There and Back Again
by best thing since cookies
Summary: Addisoncentric. PostS3 finale. Five years into the future, Addison has a daughter. How did she get there? AddisonPete,Addek,Madison,Addex and more pairings that don't revolve around Addison
1. Prologue

Note: I'm quite excited about this fic because well, it's new. Basically, it's about Addison post-Didn't We Almost Have It All. It's about five or so years into the future and there's even these nifty little flashbacks that will lead from a few months after Didn't we almost have it all to about FIVE YEARS after...and it has a lot of pairings. Addison/Pete, Addison/Derek (truth time...this is going to end up Addek. I find that I'm incapable of not writing Addek), Addison/Mark, Addison/Alex and then there's some pairings that have nothing to do with Addison and will just be back ground noise.

**_December, 2012_**

Addison entered her house quietly, worried she would wake her daughter. However, when she entered the living room and found Mark sitting on the couch with a bag of cheetohs at his side, Faith sitting at his feet playing with his stethoscope, that worry fled in favor of anger.

Faith looked up when she heard Addison's keys drop to the coffee table. "Mommy!" She awkwardly ambled to her feet, running into her mother's arms.

"Hey, sweetie," Addison said, dropping a kiss on top of her tangled red hair. She got a good look at Faith's face and almost groaned. "What's all over your hands and face?"

Faith smiled cheerfully. "Cheesy carrots," she said innocently.

Addison frowned. She knew cheetoh remnants when she saw them, but her nearly five-year-old daughter didn't have the capacity to lie. "Come on. Let's get ready for bed. It's way past your bedtime."

Faith's cheerful grin immediately faded and she gave her mom a pleading look. "I d'want to go to bed!"

"Too bad," Addison said, stifling her smile.

Faith ran over and easily climbed onto the couch beside Mark. "Pwease," she said, wrapping her arms around his head.

"Sorry, squirt. If mommy says you have to go to bed, you have to go to bed." Mark sent Addison a pleading look, unable to resist Faith's pleading.

"Come on, Faith. Bathtime and then bed."

Faith sighed woefully.

"Kiss?" Mark requested.

She sadly gave him a kiss and climbed down from the couch, heading upstairs to her bathroom.

"I can't believe you made me do that," Mark muttered.

Addison grabbed the bag of cheetohs from his side. "Stop telling my daughter these are cheesy carrots," she snapped when she was sure Faith was out of ear shot.

Mark raised his eyebrows and snatched the bag back. "Stop shoving vegetables down her throat and give her a cookie."

"She eats plenty of cookies, Mark," Addison hissed. "She can have chips with her lunch and maybe for a snack, but it's past dinnertime _and_ her bedtime!"

Mark shrugged. "Oops?"

Addison resisted the urge to just hit him. "I have to go give my daughter a bath," she said with a sigh. She was almost to the stairs when she turned back around. "Did you at least feed her supper?"

"We ate grilled cheese and noodle soup from a can," he said, flipping through the channels.

When Addison entered the mermaid themed bathroom, she found Faith already in the tub, her bath toys around her. "This isn't going to be a long bathtime," Addison told her regretfully. She had come home prepared to relax and go to sleep.

Faith yawned through her protest. It was nearly nine, way past the time she was usually permitted to stay up.

Addison mechanically ran the bathwater and washed Faith's hair. She sighed, thinking that if she didn't brush it then it was going to be tangled in the morning.

"I wanna do it," Faith protested when Addison started washing her arms.

Addison gave her the washcloth and supervised while Faith finished washing herself.

Addison wrapped her in a large, fluffy towel and carried her into the animal kingdom bedroom. There were toys scattered everywhere, and she was apalled to discover a section of the disney wallpaper had been colored on. "Faith Diane," she said, "did you color on the _wall?_"

Faith buried her face in the crook of Addison's neck. "I colored it for you," she said, her voice muffled.

Addison set Faith on the floor in front of the dresser and dried her off. She let Faith pick out which pajamas she wanted to wear and dressed her.

Faith yawned and Addison pushed her damp hair out of her face. "I think you need to get into bed, missy."

Faith threw her arms around Addison's neck. "Can I sleep with you?" she begged.

Addison glanced at the canopy "princess" bed and saw that it was covered in coloring books and crayons and markers. "Just for tonight," she conceded.

Faith cheered and let go of her mom, running for the door. She ran into the master bedroom and launched herself onto the bed. She was burrowed under the covers, singing quietly to herself when Addison stuck her head in the room. Seeing she was okay, Addison went downstairs to finish talking to Mark. Finding the living room empty and the lights turned off, she made her way to the kitchen where a note was placed amongst the many pictures.

_Sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving but it was a 911. I'll probably see you tomorrow if you don't get called in._

_-M_

When Addison walked back into her bedroom, having turned everything off and gotten Faith's toothbrush from her bathroom, she found Faith bouncing on the bed. "Down," she ordered.

Faith fell back with a giggle. "Where's daddy?" she asked. "Isn't he going to read me a story?"

"No, sweetie. He's working. Come on, we still need to brush your teeth."

Faith stood and let her mom pick her up and carry her into the master bathroom. "What's he working for?" she asked once Addison settled her beside the sink.

"Well, someone got hurt and daddy's going to fix it."

"Like when I fell down and daddy kissed it better?"

Addison laughed and gave Faith her cartoon toothbrush. "Something like that."

Faith scrubbed the small brush against her teeth and spit when her mom told her to. Addison brushed her teeth along with her daughter, and Faith copied her with a small giggle.

Addison filled two small dixie cups with water and rinsed her mouth out. Faith watched her mom carefully and copied her exactly.

"Let me see," Addison said. Faith smiled really big and Addison put her hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side. "You have a beautiful smile."

Faith carefully stood up so she was even with her mom. "Let me see," she said, mimicking Addison's pose.

Addison grinned for her daughter and laughed when Faith launched herself into her arms. "I'm guessing that's a good sign," Addison said, walking into the bedroom and turning off the lights to the bathroom. She tossed Faith onto the bed, much to the delight of the small girl. "You can have daddy's side since he's not coming home tonight."

Faith pulled the blankets back and got under them. "'Kay," she said, snuggling into the fluffy pillow. She detected her father's scent and felt the warmth wrap around her like his strong arms.

Addison changed into comfortable pajamas and got into bed. "Ready for lights out?" she asked. She was met with silence. She leaned over and smiled slightly when she discovered Faith had already fallen asleep. She kissed Faith on the forehead and realized the small girl's hair was going to be so tangled in the morning. She pulled herself back to her own side of the bed and turned off the lamp on her bedside table, plunging the room into total darkness.

She slid to the middle of the bed and smiled when Faith snuggled into her side. It didn't matter that her daughter's wet hair was making a large wet spot on her tank top. She sent a silent thanks to the heavens for giving her the little miracle. It had been a long road and she was so glad it had finally happened for her.


	2. Chapter One

**_August, 2007_**

It had been three months since the wedding that didn't happen, and it had been three months since Addison had left Seattle without a backward glance.

Addison laughed at the look on Pete's face when he opened the box. "I told you not to open it," she told him, grabbing the box from his hands and replacing the lid. "It's not yours."

"You gave it to me," he grumbled.

"I told you to hold it and _not to open it_." She laughed harder when he shook his head at her.

"_Why _do you have half-naked pictures of Sam?" he asked, covering his eyes in a vain attempt to purge the image from his mind.

"He's wearing pants," Addison said, rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm pretty sure he wasn't."

"Who wasn't what?" Violet asked, breezing straight past them, heading straight for the coffee.

"Sam wasn't wearing pants."

Violet choked on her coffee. "What?"

Addison sighed, sending Pete an annoyed look. "You didn't tell me not to tell," he said with a shrug. "Besides, he really _wasn't_ wearing pants." He picked up his coffee and took a sip, smirking at her over the rim.

"He is wearing pants in--" Opening the box, she realized that, in the top picture, Sam was wearing a leopard print speedo. "Hmm."

"Yeah," Pete said, picking up the bagel sitting on the countertop. "That picture will be forever tattooed into my brain. Thank you _so much_, Addison Montgomery." He sat at the table and took a big bite.

Violet picked up the picture, not even trying to smother her laugh. "He has hair!"

Addison's phone rang and she flipped it open, taking the bagel from Pete's hand before he could take another bite. "It's mine," she said when he started to protest. She pressed the button to answer it, not even bothering to look at the caller ID. "Hello?" She took a small bite of the bagel and shot Pete an amused look as she exited the room.

"Addison. It's, uh, Derek."

Addison swallowed thickly, the bagel making a painful path down her throat. "Hi, Derek," she said strongly, though her heart sped up and her breath fled her. It had been nearly three months since she'd left Seattle in her dust and the only people she talked to since then were Callie, Richard, and Miranda. Hearing Derek's voice was nice but quite painful.

"It's nice to hear your voice," Derek said quietly.

A long silence stretched between them. So much had happened since she left, and there was too much to say. Neither knew where to start.

Addison entered her office and made her way around her desk, sitting in her chair and logging into her email account. She put her partially eaten bagel on the desk next to the fancy name plate, her appetite gone.

"I wasn't sure about making this call," Derek said with a sigh, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"It's fine," Addison said, cradling the phone between her shoulder and ear. "Was there a specific reason you called?" A thought occurred to her and she gripped the phone before it could slip from her ear. "Did something happen? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," Derek soothed. "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"Sorry. I'm a little out of touch, but I still wonder about how things are going up there." She opened an email to Callie and started typing.

"Mom called me," Derek explained.

Addison paused in her typing and adjusted the phone. "What?"

"She called me to ask about you," he said. "I don't really know why. I told her two months ago that you'd transferred. But she called about an hour ago, completely frantic. She had a bad dream or something and wanted to talk to you."

Addison felt a sharp pang of sadness. For over a decade, the Shepherd family had been _her_ family and she essentially cut them out because she and Derek were no longer married. "I'll call her," she promised.

"Good," Derek said.

Another uncomfortable silence snuck in. "Well, that's all I really wanted to say."

Addison frowned. "Are you sure?" He sounded hesitant to actually go, and she couldn't believe he would call just to tell her to call his mom. He could have just given the number to his mom.

"Yeah," Derek said, sounding tired. "I have to go."

Addison sat at her desk for a while, her email to Callie completely abandoned, along with her bagel.

"That's unfair. I was perfectly willing to eat that, but you had to take it away and waste it."

Addison glanced up and smiled weakly when she saw Pete leaning against the doorjamb. "Hey," she said softly.

"I hate when you get that look," he complained, dropping into a chair across from her. "It's the look you had when I first met you. It's the reason we kissed. It's the reason I kissed you the second time. It's the reason I want to kiss you right now."

"Pete," Addison said warningly.

He held up his hands. "I know, I know." He shrugged with an unabashed grin. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

Addison sighed. Pete was sweet to her. Since she came to the clinic to work on a permanent basis, there had been exactly one stolen kiss. After that, she put the brakes on and told him it would go no farther. That meant no kisses, no flirting, and no giving her charming looks. The last two he generally ignored, but she refused to give in on the third. She had gone down that road and she wasn't going to hit that dead end once again.

Unfortunately, Pete was a _very_ good friend and he had this bad habit of showing up at her most vulnerable moments. It got ridiculously hard for her not to give in, but she managed to keep her distance for three months.

"Who called?" Pete asked. She gave him a look and he smile. "You're upset. Maybe I'll go out and kick their ass."

Addison snorted. "Shut up, Pete. It was my ex-husband and it was nothing he said. I promise. I just realized how out of touch I am with my family and friends. Since coming to LA, I've cut myself off from everyone except a few emails here and there."

"You obviously came here to get away," Pete pointed out. "Maybe you just succeeded a little _too_ well."

She rolled her eyes. "You just repeated what I said, only worded differently."

He shrugged with a grin but got momentarily serious. "You know you can talk to me, right Addi?"

Addison inwardly cringed at his use of the much-hated nickname. The only people she ever really allowed to call her that were the Shepherd family. "When there's something to talk about," she smiled at him when she pushed the bagel into the trash, "I will go straight to Naomi and completely ignore your offer."

Pete folded his hands over his heart. "Do I feel loved or _what_?" he asked with mock-breathlessness.

"I have to make a very important phone call," Addison said, picking up her phone and dialing the familiar number, hoping it hadn't been changed. "Please close the door on your way out."

Pete frowned indignantly when he realized she was serious. She was usually a little more polite when kicking him out of her office, but that was apparently over with. He smiled as he walked out, realizing that probably meant she was getting more comfortable with him.

In the office, Addison leaned back in her chair, phone pressed to her ear. She unconsciously held her breath when she heard the familiar sound of her niece, Angela, shrieking in the back ground. "Hello, mom. It's Addison..."

**_December, 2012_**

Addison instantly awakened when Faith's feet got tangled in the blankets and she fell. "Sorry," Faith said with an endearing smile.

"Baby, what are you doing?" Addison asked tiredly.

"I hafta potty," Faith said as if that should've been obvious.

Addison sat up and helped Faith down from the big bed. She went and turned the bathroom light on for her, but then she dragged herself back to bed. She was so tired.

Yawning widely, she glanced at the clock and froze, shocked to discover it was nearly nine a.m. She grabbed the phone from where she'd hastily tossed it on the dresser the day before and dialed the hospital. "Hey," she said. "Why didn't you call to wake me up?" She paused. "I am well aware that it's Christmas break. Faith is going to—" Addison rolled her eyes. "No. Fine." She hung up the phone and tossed it onto the unmade bed.

"Mommy?" Faith asked, bouncing into the room.

"Come on, baby, let's get dressed."

"Are we going to see daddy?" Faith asked hopefully.

"No, we're going Christmas shopping," Addison said patiently. She hadn't really planned to go Christmas shopping until that weekend. Faith's preschool was closed down for Christmas break, which was in a week and a half, and she had to go to a sitter's while Addison was working. Since having Faith, she'd cut back on surgeries and hours at the hospital. She was still an active surgeon; she just wasn't called in unless it was a really big, needing more than one person kind of surgery.

Seattle was no longer home to just one renowned neonatal surgeon. There was one more besides Addison, and she was very proud of that fact. Plus, it made it a lot easier on her. There were times, though, when she missed the fast pace and long hours.

Addison accompanied the energetic girl to her bedroom to pick out an outfit. For a four-year-old, Faith usually managed to pick out some good outfits. Addison usually left her alone when it came to her wardrobe, but there were times, like that morning, when Faith pulled out some very odd choices.

"Sorry, sweetie," Addison said, gently pulling the summer dress from her daughter's small hands. She quickly glanced over the bright dress, wondering how she managed to miss that when she put away all the summer clothes.

Faith pouted but quickly reemerged with a pair of blue jean overalls with flowers on the pants, along with a blue sweater that went perfectly with her eyes.

Addison yawned widely, realizing she still needed to get herself ready. "Go in your bathroom and grab your brush," she instructed.

Faith dragged her feet to get it, and Addison rolled her eyes, realizing fully that she was in for a tantrum. Faith hated getting her hair brushed.

Addison quickly went to her room to brush her teeth, wash her face and pick out her own outfit for the day. She pulled her hair from the clip she'd thrown it up in, realizing that Faith should've been back with the brush. "Faithie?" she called out.

When she entered the bathroom and found Faith happily playing with her bath toys, the hairbrush gone from the counter beside the sink, Addison sighed. "Faith, where's the brush?"

Faith pushed her bottom lip out slightly, but she didn't answer her mother as she continued to play.

Addison crouched down beside her. "Faith Diane. Get your brush right this second."

Faith's face slowly crumbled and a small tear leaked out when she looked up at her mom with a pitiful look. Her wide blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she silently pleaded with her mother.

"Faith," Addison said warningly, immune to the sad puppy dog eyes that had Mark, Derek, and anyone else in the vicinity in the palm of her little hand, "I'm not playing. Get your hair brush right _now_."

Faith picked herself off the ground and slowly trudged to the dirty clothes hamper and pulled the hair brush out. Her face was so sorrowful and she looked so miserable at the thought of having her hair brushed that Addison almost laughed out loud. They went through the same routine every time she had to get her hair brushed. If it were anyone else, they would've let her get away with it, opting instead to throw it up in a pony tail.

"Come on," Addison said, picking the little girl up and grabbing the detangler from the cabinet.

Faith let Addison do her hair, but not without a few tears and some screaming.

"There," Addison said, once Faith's red hair was in a hastily done french braid down her back. "All done."

It didn't take long for Faith to forgive Addison, and they were soon on their way out the door to grab some quick breakfast and then head out for a day of shopping.

**_September, 2007_**

Addison had all but forgotten about Derek's awkward phone call. Her connection with the Shepherd women had been reestablished, and she had regular correspondence with Callie and Miranda. There was a phone call here and there from Richard, but Callie was her main source of information.

"Oh my God," Addison said, laughing. She was lounging in her office with a pint of ice cream as she talked with Callie. "He didn't."

"He did," Callie confirmed.

Addison covered her face, embarrassed for Mark. He had tried and failed to get Callie, who was still trying to work through her marital problems with George, to sleep with him. "And you—"

"I didn't mean to," Callie defended. "I politely informed him of his not so sound past with sexual harassment and that I would totally kick his ass if his hands didn't stop their not so subtle descent to my ass."

"You were in the stairwell, right?" Addison asked, to get the details straight.

"Yes. When the door was flung open, Mark like literally threw himself away from me. It's hard to explain, and I have _no idea_ what that reaction was all about, though I think it has something to do with Izzie Stevens…" she trailed off to calm the hostile thoughts that were beginning to form.

"And he just…fell down the stairs?" Addison rushed through that part of the story, knowing how much Callie really disliked the girl.

"Well, he tried to grab me and I sort of stepped back a little," she said guiltily.

"Callie!" Addison said. She'd left that part out in the first run through of the story.

"I'm sorry! It was a reflex. He would've dragged me down with him if I let him get a hold on me. I do feel bad that he cracked his head, but—well, I think that'll keep him away."

"For awhile, but then you're going to have to maim him again."

"Ugh, I hope he stays away," Callie said. She divulged her own little secret. "I'm afraid that if he keeps on," she lowered her voice, "I'll cave."

"Callie!" Addison protested, aghast at the implications. "I thought you were working on things with George?"

"I am," Callie said defensively, rolling onto her back. She paused to concentrate on her gameboy for a few seconds before tossing it into a basket of dirty laundry when she got game over. "I just haven't had sex in _weeks_."

"You've only been married for what? Eight or so months? You and George should be sexing it up all the time."

"Yeah," Callie said bitterly. "Except I can't look at him without thinking of Izzie-freaking-Stevens."

Addison sighed, knowing how things like that went. "Callie, I know it's hard, but you _don't_ want to go there. Trust me."

"You've been there, I know, but you and Derek—" Callie froze. It had been an unspoken rule that they didn't bring up the D-word. In all the gossip Callie freely gave out, she never mentioned Derek or Meredith. She awkwardly continued. "Well, you two were married for over ten years before there was any…straying. Me and George were married for _months_."

Addison's heart skipped a beat and it felt like a stone had dropped to the pit of her stomach at the mention of Derek's name. "He made a mistake," she soothed, breathing through the sudden pain that pierced her heart. "I'm not excusing what he did, because it was wrong." In her mind's eye, she thought about the frozen, broken look on Derek's face when he caught her and Mark together. "But sometimes people just make mistakes."

"No," Callie said fiercely. "Look, Addison, I disliked Meredith from the start, but I wasn't too fond of you either merely on principle. You're a great person, but you don't get to say that people _just make mistakes_ because that's bull shit. You screwed up, and then he screwed up and there's been a lot of screwing up. I'm trying to work through this, but it's just getting exhausting. George isn't working, and he's been attentive and great, but I'm getting so tired of seeing the far off look on his face, knowing what—_who_ he's thinking about."

Addison stayed silent throughout her tirade, understanding what she was saying. She knew what she'd done was wrong, and she stayed with Derek for months, seeing that far off look on his face, and she did feel like giving up at times. However, she never actually felt the desire to sleep with anyone else when she was trying with Derek. Of course, Mark wasn't really around for those months that she was with Derek…

"I think we just had our first fight as friends," Callie realized after the end of the line was quiet for sometime. They were both stewing over what had been said and their feelings on the matter.

"Yes," Addison agreed. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." She hesitated. "I'm simply saying that there may be another side to the story than what you see."

Callie sighed deeply, letting go of her anger, at least while she was talking to Addison. "What other side could there be? I wasn't absent, there were no financial troubles, and we were having sex on a regular basis. We fought like crazy, but they were just meaningless little fights…I tried to let go of my jealousy. I tried to be their _friends_," she said, her voice cracking.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry," Addison said sadly.

"I feel stupid, crying while I'm on the phone," Callie laughed, wiping away her tears. "I'm frustrated with George and I really want to have sex—"

Addison laughed. "Well, you can always try having sex with him, and then there's self-gratification…"

"Ugh," Callie said, glad they'd moved on to a lighter topic. "My imagination isn't working on that front. I want a man and I want hot, sweaty marathon sex."

"Marathon sex?" Addison asked dryly.

"Like an entire night with no interruptions. I'm talking multiple orgasms here," Callie said longingly just as the door opened.

"Whoa, now," Addison snickered. "I love you, darling, but if this conversation continues down this path, I'm going to be blushing when I head to my four o'clock appointment."

"Blush away, baby," Callie said, ignoring George's presence. She delicately decided to change the subject. "So what's been going on with you and the gorgeous alternative medicine guy? What was his name again…Brett?"

"Pete," Addison corrected, "and you know nothing's been going on there. I told him that there couldn't be anything between us." She omitted the fact that Pete tried to kiss her a few days earlier, when they were having a conversation that got a little too deep.

"Mm hmm," Callie said doubtfully. "So you're seriously not going there?"

Addison opened her mouth to lie, but she groaned instead. "He's a really great friend," she complained. "He brings me coffee and lunch, and he's always around at my weakest moments!"

Callie chuckled. "You _are_ going there," she said playfully.

"I'm trying not to," Addison said helplessly. She lowered her voice. "But I think I'm starting to give in."

"Welcome to the club, and stay away from the stairs when you're trying to fend him off," Callie said when she was sure George was in the bathroom.

"And you just stay away from Mark," Addison warned.

"Say hello to Pete for me," Callie sing-songed before hanging up.

Addison made a face and dropped the phone in its cradle. There was a light tapping on her office door and she looked up, appalled to see Sam standing right outside.

"Hey," Sam said upon entering.

"Hey, yourself," Addison said, unsure of what, if anything, he'd heard.

He sat in a chair in front of her desk and gave her a long, reproachful look. "You turned down a date," he finally said.

"What?" Addison asked. She hadn't expected that.

"A date. That guy that came in the other day—"

"The guy who came in with the mother of his baby and asked me out in front of her?" Addison asked.

"…yeah," Sam said uncomfortably. He paused. "Naomi left out that part of the story."

"I figured." At first, Addison found it a little weird that Naomi and Sam were able to remain such good friends, still having intimate conversations like a married couple would, but she soon got over it. There was still some chemistry between the couple, but they avoided any situation where they could act on any feelings either of them may still have.

"Well, I'm concerned about you," Sam said, leaning forward. "The only person you really socialize outside of work with besides me and Naomi is Pete." His eyes narrowed. "And you're not getting involved with Pete, right Addison?"

"Of course," Addison lied easily.

"This conversation didn't go as I thought it would," Sam said. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I have a scheduled appointment I have to get to in about three minutes," Addison finally said. "We'll talk later, okay?"

Sam sighed when he was left alone in Addison's office. He was happy to work with Addison, but he knew someone was going to get hurt and Addison had a tendency to be the heartbreaker.

**_December, 2012_**

Faith was grinning widely as Addison led her toward the front entrance of Seattle Grace Hospital. Her little cheeks were rosy and she was happy to be out and about. It was starting to snow, and she was almost squealing with joy by the time they actually entered the hospital.

"I won't be long," Addison promised when Faith started whining about wanting to play in the snow.

"Faith!" Callie said cheerfully when she spotted the little girl.

"Aunt Callie!" Faith said, running up to the woman and hugging her legs. "We went shopping and it's snowing outside!"

"Did you get me anything good?" Callie asked.

"No," Faith said bluntly. "Mommy said she wasn't going to shop for anyone here while I was with her because I would just tell ever'body."

"That's right," Callie said, picking her up. She gave her a serious look. "Look under mommy and daddy's bed and try to see what they got Aunt Callie, okay?"

"Okay," Faith agreed.

"I don't hide gifts under the bed," Addison said, making a note to move the gifts. She didn't think she would really need an elaborate hiding place for Faith's gifts since she was only four, but it apparently had to be a little more elaborate if she was getting hints from her "family."

"Whatever," Callie said. "I looked in all the downstairs closets while I was there last weekend and I found a gift that was obviously meant for _you_. So my gift has to be somewhere upstairs, where I didn't quite get to because _someone_ came home."

"Callie," Addison said exasperatedly. "You're distracting me from my destination!" She took Faith from her friend and called over her shoulder, "I haven't bought your gift yet!"

"Addison, what are you doing here?" Mark asked. "I thought you had the day off."

"Apparently not," Addison said. "Will you take Faith while I go…" She trailed off when Mark started shaking his head.

"Sorry," Mark said, kissing the top of Faith's blue winter cap. "I'm scrubbing in right now, but I think Derek is in his office."

When Addison peeked into Derek's office, she was extremely disappointed to find it empty. "Dr. Yang," she said with some relief. "Will you please take Faith? I have to go for a consult." Cristina looked like she was considering saying no so Addison bargained. "Page Derek, and if he's not too busy, I'll pick her up there."

Cristina looked around like Derek was going to appear out of thin air. No such luck. She reluctantly nodded her consent. Addison put Faith down with a kiss and another promise that it wouldn't take long.

Faith and Cristina stood in a silent staring contest. "I know what you're getting for Christmas," Faith finally said.

"You like food, right?" Cristina asked as she led the little girl down to the cafeteria.


	3. Chapter Two

**I forgot to tell you to pay attention to the dates. Because then you won't get confused. As much anyway. I love this story. **

**_December, 2012_**

Addison peeked into the cafeteria and found Cristina sitting alone at one of the tables eating a package of M&Ms. "Yang, where's Faith?"

"She went with Karev about ten minutes ago," Cristina answered absent-mindedly while flipping through an old medical journal.

Addison left without thanking her. She didn't know how Alex managed to get to the cafeteria before her when they were both on the same consult, but she wanted to get home so they weren't stuck with leftover Chinese food or TV dinners.

She found him in the locker room, lying on a bench with a towel over his face. "Hey," she said, slapping his leg with a clipboard. His knee jerked and he yanked the towel from his face. "Where's my daughter?"

"A stranger with candy had a better offer and she ditched me," Alex said dryly. Addison's eyes narrowed and he rolled his eyes. "Shepherd took her."

Addison sighed and exited the locker room. The elevator ride was short and she made her way to Derek's office. It was empty. Of course.

"Have you seen Dr. Shepherd?" she asked the nearest nurse.

"He was called into surgery about three minutes ago," she answered.

"Okay," Addison said slowly. The frustration was building and her caffeine levels were low. She needed to find her daughter and then a cup of coffee in that order, and then she needed to go home and fix dinner. "Where is my daughter?"

The question caused the nurse's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "Dr. Shepherd took her with him when he rushed to surgery."

Addison found that odd since she knew that Derek would never allow Faith to be in the O.R. or even in the gallery. "Thanks for all your help," she said sarcastically.

"No problem."

Addison made her way to the OR board and found that Derek was in OR 2. She went to the nearest nurse's station and got a line to that OR. She asked the scrub nurse to ask Derek where Faith was.

When Addison finally stomped back into the cafeteria to find Faith happily sitting with Cristina, she nearly groaned in frustration.

**_September, 2007_**

"Psycho!" Addison exclaimed, giving Pete a disgustedly amused look.

"Me, psycho?" Pete asked in surprise. "_You_ are the one stalking me!"

"Liar," Addison shot back. "You're the one stalking _me_!" She sighed regretfully. "I can't get a restraining order because we work together and that would make things a little difficult."

"I propose that we make things a little _more_ difficult and go on a date," Pete said. He held his hand up before she could turn him down. "I just want you to know that right now, my ego is very fragile. It took a crushing blow a few weeks ago when this gorgeous red-head literally put her hand over my mouth when I tried to _kiss_ her."

Addison rolled her eyes. She was flattered and hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was so close to giving in that she could almost feel his lips moving over hers. "There will be no dating," she said sternly. "But if you buy a large popcorn and an insane amount of candy, I might consider seeing a movie with you."

Pete grinned. "I'm wearing you down," he said, leading the way out of the food court.

"The mere thought is laughable," Addison said with mock disdain. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and stuck her nose in the air. "I have a _very_ strong will, and you? Aren't that desirable. In fact, you kind of disgust me."

Pete grabbed her before she could collide with a bench. "Sticking your nose in the air while you're stationary is good and all, but when you're walking, it obstructs your vision somewhat."

Addison's face colored, but she straightened with her dignity in tact. "I—"

"And for the record," Pete said, moving his face closer so that their noses barely touched, "you kind of disgust me too." He slowly smiled and stepped back. "But I still want to kiss you. And sleep with you."

"I thought you wanted to _date_ me," Addison said scornfully. She was trying to push away the sudden breathlessness she'd felt when Pete had gotten so close. She knew that if he would've tried to kiss her, she wouldn't have stopped him.

"I want to date you too," Pete said, "but I thought that was sort of implied."

Before Addison could even _think_ about coming up with a response to that, her cell phone went off with an annoying jingle. She pulled it out without taking her eyes off of Pete and pressed it to her ear.

"Addison?" Derek asked.

Addison's face immediately adopted a guilty look and she glanced away from Pete. "Hey," she said, making a mental note to stop answering her phone without looking at the caller I.D.

"I'm sorry to just call like this," Derek said. He was lying on the porch of his trailer, half drunk and in need of a shower.

"Are you drunk?" Addison demanded. She turned to avoid the confused, questioning look on Pete's face. She hated the guilt she still felt just hanging out with another guy. Her relationship with Mark had been built on guilt, sex, and lies, even after the divorce had been finalized and she still felt like she was doing something wrong even though she hadn't even done anything with Pete.

"No, I'm not drunk," Derek slurred indignantly.

Addison sighed and lowered herself onto a nearby bench. It barely registered in her mind that Pete followed her as she tried to piece together precisely why Derek would call her. "Derek," she said firmly, "where are you?"

"At the trailer," Derek answered, relaxing once again. The indignation that he had felt mere moments before drifted away like his fading memories. He suddenly heard the distinct sounds of people talking. "Where are you? I'm not interrupting something, am I?"

Addison glanced at Pete. Was he? "No," she said firmly. "I'm at the mall." She gave Pete an apologetic look. "I'm about to leave now."

Pete sighed in frustration and gave her an exasperated look. "What about our movie date?" he asked.

"Can you call me back in about twenty minutes?" Addison asked without answering Pete's question.

Derek frowned, having heard the quiet question. "I _am_ interrupting something," he concluded. "I'll just let you get back to your…date."

"Derek!" Addison quickly called out, much louder than she intended. When all she received in return was a dial tone, she flipped her phone shut and turned on Pete with a genuinely angry glare. "That was uncalled for."

"Hey, you were about to ditch me to talk on the phone with your ex-husband!" Pete said defensively.

"Pete, we're not dating," Addison said slowly. "I _can't _get involved with you. We can be friends, but that's it." She stood up. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?"

"Addison," Pete protested.

She completely ignored him as she stalked away, trying to get Derek back on the phone.

Pete sighed deeply and slumped further into his seat. His words had been purposely playful to disguise the hurt he was feeling at her obvious willingness to ditch him for a single phone call from her ex-husband, but he knew, in her eyes at least, he had taken it too far.

**_December, 2012_**

"Santa is going to come down the chimney, right?" Faith asked adamantly.

"Faith, please eat your dinner," Addison said tiredly.

There was a brief moment of silence while Faith took a small bite of her spaghetti. "What about the kids that don't have chimneys?"

The look on her face was so worried that Addison had to soften. "Christmas magic, baby. Now eat your dinner."

Momentarily pacified, Faith resumed her slow eating. "What happens, though?" she asked. "How does Santa get into their houses?"

"He has very good lock picking skills," Callie said, entering the room with a grin.

"More like a master key," Addison said, her exhaustion immediately leaving her.

"So I was in the neighborhood and realized that you were probably eating dinner by now so I thought I would drop by." She grabbed a plate from the corner cabinet and started fixing herself a plate.

"I haven't bought your gift yet, Callie," Addison said dryly. "I've learned not to buy _your_ gift until the very last minute."

"Last year, you bought it months in advance and hid it at _Alex's_," Callie said with obvious distaste.

"I knew you wouldn't look there," Addison said, laughing.

**_October, 2007_**

"Hello?" Addison said, hurrying from her car into her house that sat right on the beach. She had less than half an hour until Pete was set to show up at her house with Sam. After the dreadful run in at the mall that had ended with the phone call from Derek, their friendship had become shaky at best. It still bothered her from time to time that she hadn't gotten the chance to find out what was up with Derek, but she knew she needed to stop taking out her frustrations on Pete. He was a really good guy, even if was a little too close to Mark's personality at times.

"I had sex five weeks ago, after that phone conversation we had," Callie blurted.

Addison dropped her keys, all thoughts of Pete and Sam forgotten. "We've talked several times since then!" she said loudly. "Why didn't you tell me and more importantly are things okay with you two again?"

There was a long silence and Addison groaned as she picked up her keys. "Please, please, _please _tell me you didn't sleep with Mark," she begged.

"I didn't sleep with Mark," Callie said quietly.

Addison sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God. For a second, I thought—"

"I slept with Alex and I think I might be pregnant," Callie interrupted.

All the blood drained from Addison's face. "You slept with Alex?!"

"So did you!" Callie said defensively.

"Which should have told you something!" Addison slumped against her front door, keys digging into her palm. "Sleeping with any guy I've slept with is a bad idea. I was so worried you were going to sleep with Mark again, and I didn't even _think_ about—how did this happen?"

"I don't know!" Callie said hysterically. "I was at Joe's and George was beside me, trying _so hard_ not to look over at Izzie and I just—" She broke off and took a deep breath. Her voice was shaking. "I went back to work, but I couldn't concentrate on anything so I went to the oncall room. He was already shirtless and I wanted sex _really badly_. Mostly I wanted Mark, but he then he kissed me and I just...went with it."

"Callie," Addison said, her voice pitched to soothe. "Calm down, honey."

"This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen." Callie dropped her head back on the pillow she was using to cushion her back on the headboard. "I love George and I hate that I love him. I love him so much it hurts sometimes, but I can't _be_ with him like that. Not anymore."

Addison was silent. "Do you want me to come up there?" she asked.

"What?" The tear that had somehow leaked past her defenses was forgotten in favor of her shock.

"Do you want me to come up there?" she repeated. She waited for a few minutes and, after receiving nothing but silence, said, "Okay. I'll be there in a few hours."

"You can't do that," Callie protested.

"You need a friend right now," Addison said gently. She cut off the protest before it could cross Callie's lips. "Yang doesn't count because you know she'll tell Meredith."

"I can't get a pregnancy test," Callie admitted. "I don't think I want to know."

"Because you'll want to get rid of it?" Addison asked breathlessly. It was such a painful reminder of what she did that it took her breath away and left her clutching the cell phone as a solitary anchor to ground herself.

"No." It was so soft and sad that Addison had to press the phone impossibly closer so that it was digging into her ear. "Because I know I won't be able to."

Addison swallowed thickly. "Give me two hours. Three at most."

……….

"I don't know," Sam told him.

"She's avoiding me!" Pete insisted.

"She's not avoiding you." Sam rolled his eyes. "You are so self-absorbed. I don't know why she isn't here, but I'm certain there's a good reason for it." He hurriedly added, "That has nothing to do with you."

Pete sighed deeply. He couldn't help hoping his friend was right, but he knew it probably wasn't the case. "I'm still going to tease her relentlessly for standing us up."

"You make it sound like a date." Sam gave him a thoughtful look. "That's what you're problem is, isn't it? You really want to date her."

"I don't know," Pete snapped. "She barely even looks my way anymore, and all I want to do is kiss her senseless."

"Pete," Sam said warningly. "She _just_ got divorced—"

"A year ago!"

"Come on, man. Addison and Derek aren't just a failed marital statistic. They were _Addison and Derek_. There wasn't one without the other, and that girl loved him with everything she had. She made a mistake, and she paid dearly for it. There's little chance that she's over it. Even after this long."

Pete sighed. He remembered the look on her face when she realized just who was on the phone that night. It was very nearly possible that Sam was right, but he would stay in denial for as long as he could. Those few shared kisses had been wonderful, and he knew there was something there. He just had to get Addison to see it. "Come on. The neighbors are going to call the cops if we just keep standing on her porch talking without her here."

……….

Addison and Callie were lying in bed side by side, staring at the ceiling. "How much do you think you'll get out of the divorce?" Addison asked, turning her head.

There had been very few tears and a lot of anger taken out, and Callie realized that she was going to have to get a divorce mere months after marrying.

Callie snorted. "The only thing I really got out of this marriage is a dangerous addiction to _Guitar Hero_."

Addison's brows furrowed. She was debating on whether or not to ask in case it turned out to be a sex role-playing game.

Callie choked out a laugh at the look on Addison's face. "It's a video game!" she laughed. "First of all, you have a seriously dirty mind. Second of all, I can't believe you haven't heard of it!" She rolled off the bed onto her feet and made her way to the TV.

When George came in hours later, he found Callie laughing hysterically as Addison tried to hit all the notes on _I Love Rock and Roll_. He was slightly amused to see that she was doing quite badly and it was on easy.

"Uh, hey," he greeted warily.

Addison fumbled when she glanced up, missing several notes when she tried to get her bearings back. She protested loudly when she failed.

"You almost made it through the entire song this time," Callie praised.

Addison threw George an acidic glare. "You messed me up," she informed him.

"Sorry," George said. He was unable to fight the flush that was creeping up his face. He shuffled in place and stared at the floor, still feeling like Addison was his superior, telling him off for making a mistake. It was an irrational feeling, considering he was no longer an intern and Addison no longer worked at Seattle Grace. "I think I'll just come back later."

"Addison's staying the night," Callie put in. There was little cheer in her voice as her stomach lurched violently. She needed to get him out of there before she could give in and empty her stomach. "I thought it would be good for you to go spend time with—" She stumbled over her words. She couldn't bring herself to say Izzie's name, and she wasn't going to bring up Meredith in front of Addison. "You haven't seen your friends in a while."

"You want me to spend the night at Meredith's?" George asked incredulously. He looked panicked and confused.

Addison glanced at Callie. According to Callie, since George had decided to sever ties with Izzie and work on their marriage, he hadn't seen much of his friends.

Callie inhaled deeply and stared at the television screen. "It's for the best," she assured him. He caught on that there was a deeper meaning behind her words. "Besides," she continued with false joy, "there won't be much room on the bed for three grown people!"

"Okay," George said resignedly. "I'll just get some of my clothes."

Callie locked herself in the bathroom while George gathered some things together. Addison subtly turned up the volume to cover the sounds of her retching.

George stared at the door with a sad look on his face. "I hated what I did to her," he said quietly. "I wanted to take it back more than I've ever wanted anything, but," he shrugged helplessly, "it was Izzie and I couldn't. I tried to make it up to her, but she didn't trust me, and I stopped trying when I saw how much it hurt her when I touched her, even innocently."

Addison's heart broke for them both, knowing what infidelity could do to a marriage. "Love's not enough," she said gently. "You broke her trust, and you broke her heart. She suspected there was something going on, and she felt horribly guilty for months for feeling _irrationally jealous_."

George silently appraised her. "I guess you're right," he finally said, turning away. "Tell her I won't fight the divorce and I'll come and get the rest of my things when she's at work."

Addison wanted to tell him to fight, but she realized that it was him that needed to be fought for. "Goodbye, George."

George paused at the door. "Dr. Shepherd is a mess," he said without turning around. "He hardly ever sleeps and he's been Joe's last call for over a month."

Addison held her breath without response until he was gone. Then she pushed that information to the back of her mind and made her way into the bathroom where Callie was sitting on the floor in front of the toilet with her arms wrapped around her legs.

The only sounds within the small room were that of Addison preparing Callie's toothbrush and dragging her up to brush her teeth. The music was far too loud in the spacious hotel room while Addison went through her bag and reappeared in the bathroom with two pregnancy tests.

"I can't," Callie said strongly.

"You can," Addison argued. "If you are, I'll talk to Richard and you'll come back to L.A. with me."

"No!" Callie said, alarmed. "I can't just leave, Addison. I have—there's too much—I can't leave. Not like you."

"That's not fair."

Callie sighed. "Maybe not, but I can't leave." She slowly picked up one of the boxes. "The outcome is inevitable, whether I know or not. Guess it's better to be prepared."

Addison stood silently and distracted Callie while they waited three minutes for the tests.

Callie didn't fret or wait but instead immediately compared the tests.

They were both positive.

**Okay. So I've already established how in love with this story I am. But I also have to say that I need to be cheered up because I had a date planned for tomorrow (or, uh, technically today) and it may be CANCELED. If you don't review I will...never update again. yeah. That's what I'll do. **


	4. Chapter Three

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KENDY! I hope it's good enough...lol. Only the best for our Kendel**

**October, 2007**

"I changed my mind," Callie said suddenly. "I want to go back to L.A. with you."

Addison managed to drag her eyelids open with some effort. "Callie, don't tell me important news when I'm sleeping," she groaned, turning her face into one of the many pillows she was buried comfortably in.

"You're not sleeping," Callie said patiently. "I called Richard and then booked us a flight for noon tomorrow."

"My flight is tomorrow _evening_." Addison squeezed her eyes shut and tried to recapture the last tendrils of sleep that were quickly slipping away. She could feel Callie's eyes on the back of her head and she opened her eyes with a sigh. "I hate you."

"You wish you could hate me," Callie corrected her. "I'm very difficult to hate."

Addison sat up and looked at the clock. It was half past two in the morning. "You think quite a lot of yourself, Callie. If the murderous thoughts going through my head are any indication, I have very little problems hating you right now."

Addison had been quite exhausted when they got into bed at midnight, but Callie hadn't been able to sleep due to the tumultuous thoughts running through her head. All the thoughts led to one conclusion: there was no way she could stay in Seattle for her pregnancy. She knew Seattle Grace had the perfect program for her and she didn't want to leave, but she needed to get away for at least a little while.

Callie lounged on the bed, a little more tired after coming to a satisfactory solution. She opened her eyes when Addison exited the bathroom and slowly sat up. "Are you going out?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep for another few hours." Addison sent a quick glare in Callie's general direction. "So I'm going to see if Richard's at the hospital and then I'm going to get myself a drink."

"The chief won't be there," Callie said. "He's pretty much nine to five unless he's really needed."

Addison gave her a shocked look. As far as she could remember, Richard had never been nine to five. He was a surgeon through and through and he was there even if he wasn't needed. "Okay," she said, "then I'm just going to get myself a drink."

Callie stood up. She was still fully dressed. "I'm going to go to the hospital and get some things from my locker. Then I'll join you at Joe's."

"Callie," Addison said skeptically.

"To _hang out_," Callie clarified. "I know the dangers of drinking while pregnant."

Addison turned to her small bag and pulled out a pair of loose fitting jeans and a blouse. "Okay," she said. "You can give me a ride and meet me after you finish whatever it is that you're going to do."

Callie flipped through the channels while she waited for Addison to finish getting dressed and wash the residual makeup from her face.

The Addison that came out of the bathroom was a little more relaxed than Callie was used to seeing her. She was dressed in a simple white blouse with jeans and flats, and the curls from earlier that day had been brushed out, leaving a soft wave. Her face was clear of all makeup, giving her a considerably softer look.

"What?" Addison asked when Callie's penetrating stare became disconcerting.

"L.A. has been good to you," Callie said, picking up her keys from the bedside table.

"Okay…" Addison followed her out of the room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click.

……….

Callie didn't bother going through her locker. The only things she really wanted to take with her were her PSP and stethoscope. She closed her locker with a sense of finality that caused a pang in her chest. She dropped onto the bench in the middle of the aisle of lockers, putting her head in her hands. Before even going into the locker room, she had gone into an empty exam room and taken some blood for the pregnancy test.

It was being processed without paper work as a favor to her, but she knew if Richard found out she would get into trouble, but there was no way she could just go to L.A. without knowing for sure.

Callie sighed deeply and stood up. Her PSP and stethoscope went into her purse with little trouble and she headed down to the lab to tell them where she would be.

She wandered down to the nurses' station closest to the on call rooms and got a piece of paper and pen before going to find an empty room. She closed the door behind her and flipped on the light. The room was empty save for a bunk bed and a table with a few chairs.

Callie decided to forgo the table in favor of the floor and sat with her back propped against the bottom bunk. Thinking carefully, she began her letter to Alex. _Dear Alex,_

She tapped her pen against the page, waiting for the words to come. Unfortunately, her mind wasn't distributing anything resembling an explanation. Instead, she was thinking about that wonderful, terrible night.

Everything had been just piling up on her, and she had just gotten so incredibly frustrated. And then Alex was just there and willing to be what she needed at the time.

Her mind drifted from Alex to the fact that there was probably a baby growing inside of her. She let her head fall back and she dropped the pen and covered her face with her hands. Getting an abortion never occurred to her, but she was frightened out of her mind at doing it all alone.

Callie's head jerked up when the door opened. Alex Karev stood in the doorway looking exhausted and ready to fall into bed.

"Hey," he said dully, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

"I thought you weren't on call tonight," Callie commented glibly. She subtly turned the paper she had been writing on over and slid it behind her, under the bed.

"I find it funny that you know my schedule," Alex said with no real humor. He dropped bonelessly onto the bottom bunk beside Callie's head. "I guess it would make sense…you've been avoiding me for weeks."

"A night of uninhibited, adulteress sex will cause _some_ avoidance." The blunt retort was accompanied with a scathing look.

A startled laugh escaped Alex and he shook his head. "You and O'Malley were over. Everyone could see it." He gave her a smirk. "I figured I could have some fun while speeding up the awareness process."

Callie turned her head and glared up at him. She couldn't believe the extent of his tenacity but it was so very Alex Karev that she couldn't actually be truly angry. He was a complete ass and wasn't afraid to show it. "I don't even know how it happened," she said truthfully.

"I do. O'Malley was being O'Malley and you got fed up."

"But if he was being "O'Malley" then he wouldn't have slept with Izzie!" Callie burst out.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know how you didn't see that coming. I thought they were sleeping together when they first moved into Meredith's house. It was a pretty inevitable outcome."

"Gee, thanks so much for the encouraging words." Callie pushed herself to her feet and started for the door.

Alex grabbed her wrist and tugged her back toward him. "I'm not trying to be encouraging. He doesn't know what he wants."

"And you do?" Callie demanded.

Alex leered at her. "I do at this very moment."

Callie would have rolled her eyes and walked out. She would have forgotten her shoes and went to find Addison. Except she didn't because Alex stood up and pulled her into a kiss that lit a fire in the pit of her stomach.

……….

It wasn't until after her third vodka martini that Addison noticed Derek at the end of the bar. It wasn't until well after her fifth that she noticed he'd noticed her too. "Is that why you've been keeping me in steady supply of drinks?" she asked accusingly, jerking her head in Derek's direction.

Joe shrugged. "He actually pays his tab, unlike some of my other patrons. He said not to allow your glass to stay empty for more than a few minutes. What Dr. Shepherd wants, Dr. Shepherd gets."

Addison stood unsteadily and made her way to Derek's side. "Why are you trying to get me drunk?" she demanded crossly.

Derek didn't look up from his drink. "You looked like you needed a drink."

"_A_ drink." She sat heavily on the stool beside his, barely taking their close proximity into account.

Derek shifted to accommodate her impossibly long legs which she slid through his so that they were forced to face one another. It was an automatic thing that neither really put any thought into. "It's been quite a while," Derek commented, lifting his glass to his lips.

"Hm." Addison watched Derek gulp the amber liquid. Her eyes drifted to his week-old beard and the dark circles under his eyes. "Why haven't you been sleeping?" she asked quietly.

Derek looked up, his eyes searching her face for the answers she wanted to hear.

"You've been drinking heavily for quite a while, I've heard, and it's been a while since you've shaved."

"I'm going for the ruggedly handsome look." He smiled charmingly and stroked his beard emphatically.

"You look like a lazy, arrogant man who thinks he looks ruggedly handsome," Addison stated bluntly.

"You know _just_ what to say to make me feel better." He motioned for Joe to fill him up.

"I'm not trying to make you feel better." She took his newly filled glass away from him and downed it in one swallow. Her throat constricted and, for a split second, she really thought it was going to come back up. "Come on. Let's go." She experienced an instance of vertigo when she stood up, but it went away the longer she stood.

"Joe's going to call me a cab in about fifteen minutes," Derek said. He ignored Addison's look.

"I'm calling a cab right now and you're coming with me." She pulled on his arm until he relented and stood up. He was surprisingly steady on his feet and he actually had to help her more than she had to help him. "You've built a little more tolerance," she observed.

Derek sighed and dug her cell phone out of her pocket. "And I see you haven't."

Addison caught his hand before he could remove it completely from her pocket. She looked startled at herself but didn't make a move to retract it.

Derek slowly leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against her pliable lips and she leaned in further to deepen the kiss. He pulled away with a small smile. "I just needed to use the phone."

……….

Early the next morning, Callie slowly opened the door to her room and peeked in. The room didn't look any different than the night before and she stepped over the threshold and looked around curiously.

"I'm so sorry, Callie," Addison apologized, nearly running into her when she walked in.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't meet you and you were probably—" She broke off when she saw Addison's appearance. Both women looked at each other.

"You didn't come home last night," Addison stated.

"Neither did you," Callie said with a laugh. "Mark?"

"No."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "_Derek_?" She looked appalled when Addison didn't say anything. "Addison!" she groaned.

"What?" Addison snapped. "It was a mutual one night thing."

"Does he know that?" Callie sighed. "And I thought I was making a mistake with Alex."

"Did you at least tell him about the baby?" Addison asked.

"That's a conversation I want to have in the afterglow. Oh, by the way I'm pregnant and it's yours." She didn't add that he would know when he woke. She had received the affirmative results and then left when she realized she had completely blown Addison off. She left the papers on the pillow beside his head along with a note that said she would call him when she got to L.A. Then she called and moved their flight up. "Our plane leaves in two hours. We need to get to the air port."

"I thought our plane left at noon?" Addison asked, longing for sleep.

"I moved the flight up."

**December, 2012**

"I'm exhausted," Callie said. "I'm so glad you actually cooked supper tonight." She made herself a plate and sat beside Faith.

"You know I'm always here and willing to be your slave," Addison said dryly.

"That's why I love you." Callie gave her a toothy grin before helping herself to a big bite of spaghetti.

"Why do you love me?" Faith asked innocently.

"Cause you're cute," Callie supplied promptly. "I can't help loving cute things."

"Then why do you love Ty?"

"Hey!" Callie protested, turning her head and giving Addison a shocked look.

"I didn't say it," Addison said laughingly.

"Ty is probably the cutest boy you will ever meet," Callie said sternly.

"Nuh uh!" Faith raised her chin defiantly. "My daddy is."

Callie covered her face with her hands. "They have you brainwashed." She spread her fingers to glare mockingly at Faith. "For the record, Ty is _very_ cute."

Faith shrugged and went back to twirling her last bits of spaghetti. "What did you get me for Christmas?" she asked without looking up.

"Faith, you're not supposed to ask what you got for Christmas," Addison scolded lightly. "It's more fun to be surprised."

"Callie always asks!" Faith pouted at the scolding tone.

"Your mom is wrong." Callie grinned at Addison's glare. "Most of the fun is trying to find out what you got. I mean, afterwards, it's not so fun because you know what you're getting, but it's fun looking and tricking people into telling you."

"Yeah, tricking four year olds."

"Daddy!" Faith jumped down and ran into the living room where the two women could hear movements and voices.

**October, 2007**

"You know," Sam said conversationally. "I'm starting to think Pete really likes you. And you blew us off for dinner and then didn't even show up for work the next day."

"I had a personal crisis," Addison said, not looking up from her charts.

"What kind of crisis could possibly keep you away for a day and a half?" Sam demanded.

"Hey," Callie greeted from behind him.

"Sam," Addison said without looking up. "Meet my personal crisis."

Callie grinned at the classification and held out her hand for Sam to shake. "I'm Callie."

Sam blinked and made a mental note to talk to Naomi and find out what was going on. "Sam," he greeted, shaking her hand.

"I'm still completely swamped," Addison apologized. "I don't think I can get away for lunch."

"That's fine," Callie said. "I'll just hang out—"

"I was about to head out to lunch with Pete," Sam interrupted. "You can come with me."

Before Callie could protest at imposing, Addison said, "Go to lunch with them. It'll be great and you can get to know them."

Callie looked between Sam and Addison and then mentally shrugged. "Lunch, then."

**Mid-November 2007**

Everyone in L.A. embraced Callie's presence. She was a great asset, and she was very likeable. She still hadn't called Alex and Addison was ready to kill her.

"I can't!" Callie protested. "He knows and that should be enough for now."

"It's not. He has no idea what's going on and you need to call him!" Addison said, brandishing the phone at her like a sword.

"Addison," Callie groaned.

"Either call him now or tell me what happened that night," Addison challenged. She had been wanting to know the details of "that night" since they got to L.A.

"You first," Callie said, crossing her arms over her chest in satisfaction.

Addison shrugged. "Simple. We had sex."

"That's obvious," Callie said with an eye roll. "Same for me and Alex."

Addison dropped onto the sofa sitting perpendicular to the chair Callie was sitting in. "Okay. I'll give you details if you give me details."

"Deal," Callie said immediately. She was willing to share, especially if it meant Addison wasn't going to force her to call Alex, or even worse, call Alex herself.

"You go first," Addison said, getting comfortable.

"We were sort of bickering and he told me George didn't know what he wants. I asked him if he knew what _he_ wanted. He said he did right then." Callie shrugged. "He kissed me and I just went with it."

"Okay, let me clarify some things," Addison said with a smirk. "When I say details, I mean _details_."

"Are you really going to get into detail when you tell _your _story?" Callie demanded.

Addison nodded. "I have very little problems giving those kinds of details to my good friends."

"Ugh. Okay, fine. So he kissed me and I swear I didn't even think about the fact that he was an insufferable jerk or that I was pregnant or anything. I could feel the kiss throughout my entire body, and I couldn't stop myself." Callie put her hands over her burning cheeks and pulled her legs into the chair so she could hide her face.

"Who initiated the removal of the clothes?" Addison prompted.

"He did—no, I did." Callie frowned in concentration. "I'm pretty sure it was me. Yeah…I remember now. I pushed him back against the bed and kissed him before uh pulling his shirt over his head."

"Then?" Addison asked.

Callie shrugged helplessly. "He pulled the drawstring of my pants and then I was on the bed and not _thinking_!"

Addison laughed at her facial expressions. "Did you two talk at all?"

"A little," Callie admitted. "He asked if I was still with George and I told him no. That was basically it until he started…kissing me again."

"Round two?" Addison asked.

"Yeah. Afterwards, he fell straight to sleep." Callie thought about that night. She wasn't in love with Alex by any definition of the word, but she felt a small connection to him. She really needed him that first night, and he helped her sort of come to the terms with the fact that she was pregnant with his child the second night. Even if he didn't know it at the time. He wasn't a bad guy. Just a misguided, outspoken ass.

"It's your turn," Callie said, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

"At Joe's, it felt just like old times. Not like our marriage but before we got married. He would get completely drunk on certain days, and I would just sit with him, sort of entangled in some way or another, and listen to him talk. Or just sit with him. It really depended…" Addison momentarily got lost in her memories. "I guess I had drunk more than I thought because I was pretty much feeling no pain."

Addison grinned at Callie. "He kissed me when we were outside, and I was comfortable just sitting with him on the cab home. He made coffee when we got to the trailer and we sat and talked for a little while."

"You _talked_?" Callie demanded. "That's your details?"

"No. My God, will you hold your horses? I'm _getting there_. So we mostly talked about me. He avoided most of my questions about him except to say that he and Meredith were over. Then we sat in silence for a little while…"

"Addison!"

Addison laughed at Callie's impatience. "He pulled the coffee cup from my hands and pulled me up, saying that he wanted to show me something." Addison raised her eyebrows with a slight smile.

"Let me guess," Callie said dryly. "He kept all of your sex toys and it's just the way you left it."

"Good guess but no. He pulled out all of the pictures we had left in New York and showed them to me. There were hundreds of pictures from the beginning to the end, all arranged into several albums."

"Romantic," Callie observed.

"It would seem romantic, except it wasn't. It was just memories all crammed together that sometimes didn't fit in the same album. It wasn't him that put them in there; that was obvious. I think it was his sisters or his mom. It was like a shrine to us…anyway, I just stood there, looking at the albums. Then he pulled me to him in a…rather violent kiss." The suggestive smirk on her face painted a picture that told Callie she hadn't exactly been opposed.

"He ripped open my blouse and had my pants off before I could really comprehend that it was actually happening. He didn't remove a single article of clothing. He..." She glanced a Callie with a devious smile. "He pushed me onto the bed and dropped to his knees near the foot of the bed and yanked me forward. Then he dipped his head down and--"

"Okay, I got it!" Callie said, her face reddening.

"The second time was a little less…violent, I guess you'd say."

"Let me guess. There was a _third_ time."

Addison grinned.

"Ugh. You two are like…more than ten years older than both me _and_ Alex and you have more stamina."

"Practice makes perfect." Addison laughed at the disgusted look on her face. "Sorry."

"Whatever. I'm going to take a nap. You could write a trashy romance novel with those kinds of stories." She shook her head as she exited the room.

Addison's laugh followed her out of the room.

A/N: Kendy, it was better on notebook paper but…happy birthday. Oh yeah and to everyone else: I want to apologize because the dates somehow didn't show up on past chapters...I hope it's less confusing. I'll make sure the dates show up


	5. Chapter Four

**There and Back Again: Visits**

**_Mid-December, 2007_**

"Sometimes I really hate everyone," Callie groused. "I would _really_ like to be surrounded by something more than stupidity every now and then."

Addison gave her an amused look. "The only people you really associate with are doctors," she pointed out.

Callie leveled a frustrated glare on her best friend. "I'm not talking about _book smart_," she said acidly. She glared out at the horrifically sunny and beautiful view of the ocean. "You have to be the stupidest human being on the face of this planet."

Addison's mouth opened in silent protest, completely shocked. "What did I do to make you turn your back on all of mankind?" she demanded indignantly.

Callie felt she had absolutely no right to be outraged. "Everyone loves you, Addison. You have seventy-six thousand friends and guys are practically falling at your feet! You sit here acting like an old, dried up maid and there's one guy in particular that has had his sights on you since before you even moved down here." Callie threw her arms out dramatically and threw herself back into the soft cushions with a pout.

A frown creased Addison's forehead. "Since when are you team Pete?" she asked.

"I'm not _team Pete_," Callie said defensively. She lowered her eyes from Addison's hurt ones. "It's just...not _fair_. You have Derek, who would've stayed with you forever if you hadn't cheated on him with Mark, who would've straightened up for you if you hadn't slept with Alex, who just plain doesn't count in this equation because I'm currently anti-Alex." She took in a deep breath. "And now there's Pete. I'm not saying all this because I'm mad at you or because I hate the world, which I do. I'm saying this because you're _always_ here and I'm too polite to tell you that I _hate_ your taste in movies, which you are constantly _not ever watching_."

Addison didn't know what to say. She was slightly offended and actually a little hurt by Callie's tirade. "What brought this on?"

The anger she'd been experiencing just moments before disappeared and Callie was left feeling unbearably sad. She put her hands over her face. "I talked to my lawyer today. George signed the papers. I'm a free woman," she said, her voice cracking.

Addison mentally slapped herself. She stood up from the couch and squeezed herself into the chair with Callie and wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm so sorry," she said softly.

Callie sobbed into Addison's hair. It just wasn't fair. The last time she had felt safe was with Alex. That was so backward from what her life was supposed to be!

Addison rested her chin on top of Callie's head and thought of her own divorce. It had been one of the most painful times in her life, knowing that last connection was severed. She lost her best friend, lover, and husband. The knowledge that it was over long before the divorce didn't help at all. Of course, she was able to drown her sorrows in alcohol. Callie was unable to do that.

Callie finally calmed enough for coherent conversation. "You're sitting in my lap," she commented through the remnants of her tears.

"Hm," Addison replied. She stretched her legs out and threw them over the arm of the chair. "_Now_ I am sitting in your lap."

Callie smiled slightly. Addison was a really great friend, even if she was smashing her legs.

"We should have a girl's night," Addison said decisively. "Romantic comedies--your pick of course--and a lot of unhealthy food."

"Naomi and Violet?" Callie suggested.

Addison swung her legs off the arm rest and stood up. "I'll call them and you can decide what we're having for dinner."

Callie sat pondering the different food possibilities while Addison went into the kitchen to get the cordless. Addison poked her head into the living room with the phone pressed to her ear. "Dell said he would bake a cake if you let him come too."

"What kind?" Callie asked, as if it really mattered.

Addison spoke for a moment into the receiver. "Chocolate," she said. "He's baking chocolate chips into it."

"I'm sold," Callie said with a grin.

Addison went back into the kitchen and came back out with two bottles of water and the phone. "I'm pretty sure this has turned into a group thing. Sam took the phone from Violet and said he wasn't going to be left out. And then Cooper was there. Sorry, Callie, but I couldn't refuse when they offered to bring ice cream and brownies. Naomi's brining fruit salad."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Fruit salad?"

"So we can pretend we're eating healthy," Addison said reasonably.

"Makes sense," Callie said, pleased. She paused. "Why are they all at the office?"

"Naomi pretty much lives there and Violet got called in for a patient. Dell comes in as much as possible because Naomi's there, and I don't know why Sam and Cooper are still there."

Callie shrugged off the explanation. "I'm really, truly starving. When is this all happening?" she asked.

"In about an hour. What are we having?"

"Chicken and hamburgers."

"Right on."

Cooper and Violet were curled together sleeping on the floor by the end of the first movie, and Sam had to leave almost as soon as he arrived after receiving a call from a patient.

"I don't even know why you invited him," Naomi commented, taking a big bite of Dell's cake.

"He invited himself," Addison said patiently, "and he's our friend. Not everyone contains as much pent up hostility toward him as you do."

"There's no hostility here!" Naomi said, spraying the counter to with cake.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Addison counseled wisely. She sighed. "All babies are miracles, but right now, I really wish Callie wasn't pregnant. We're staying alcohol free because she's pregnant."

"_You're_ not pregnant," Naomi pointed out. She immediately realized the insensitivity behind the comment. "Addison, I'm--"

"You're right. I'm not pregnant," Addison said flippantly. She wouldn't allow that to hurt her anymore. "But I'm being _supportive_. If that means no alcohol for the next five and a half months then it's what I have to do."

"You weren't this supportive when I got pregnant," Naomi said sullenly.

Addison grinned. "You already had your support system. Besides, I was too busy having a _lot_ of sex with my boyfriend."

"Who dumped you for an intern," Naomi countered.

"Whatever. Your guy left you for no reason, and I can at least have great ex sex with mine." With that, she exited the kitchen and plopped down onto the couch with Callie.

"The food is great," Callie decided, putting her legs in Addison's lap. "However, these movies suck and everyone keeps deserting me." She shot a look at the sleeping duo on the floor. "Or falling asleep."

Dell looked over at her. "Uh, I've been sitting here the whole time."

Callie glanced at him. "_You_ don't laugh at funny scenes or get overly concerned during scenes where you're supposed to get concerned. You don't even mock the cheesiness!"

"I'm laughing inside," Dell said defensively.

"Doesn't count."

The doorbell rang and Addison pushed herself from the couch to answer the door. She could tell by the silhouette in the frosted glass panes in the door who it was before she opened the door. "Pete," she said, leaning her cheek against the door.

"You had a group party thing and I wasn't invited," Pete said with a mock-stern look.

"Actually," Addison corrected with a smile, "it was a thing to cheer Callie up. It turned into a group thing on accident."

"Why are we trying to cheer Callie up?" Pete asked, a worried frown creasing his handsome face.

Addison bit her lip to keep from grinning. Pete was worried about Callie. That was so sweet. "She found out she was divorced today."

Pete's eyebrows shot up and he pursed his lips. "So. Are we going to stand here all night or are you going to invite me in?"

"Come in. Callie's starved for company." She opened the door wider to allow him entry.

Pete walked in and found Callie sprawled across the couch, dozing. His eyes fell to Cooper and Violet who were pretty much wrapped around one another in their sleep. "Starved for company, huh?" he asked, sitting on the chair previously occupied by Dell. "How can you be with such a lively atmosphere?" The sarcastic tone didn't get past Addison as she went into the kitchen to see what Naomi and Dell were up to.

"I was wondering when you were going to make it into the main part of the house," Callie said. "I figured it was okay as long as you had Addison pressed against the wall, trying your best to get into her pants."

"Didn't get that into it," Pete said dryly.

Callie groaned. "What is wrong with you?"

"Maybe I want a _willing_ partner?" Pete suggested.

"Oh, she's willing," Callie said with a laugh. "She's _very_ willing."

Pete groaned. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that. I makes me wonder what's so wrong with me that she won't take what she wants."

"Whatever. It makes you want to take what _you_ want," Callie countered with a smirk.

Silence lapsed between the two. Pete finally looked over at her. "Addison told me you're a free woman. Do you want to have sex now or beat around the bush until we're both so sexually frustrated that we're ready to bust?"

Callie burst out laughing. "Pete, I'm sorry to break this to you, but I'm not going to have sex with you. And you can't kiss me when I'm sad either. That's Addison's thing."

"I'm vaguely disappointed. Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to convince Addison." He smiled, but it faded after a few moments. "You're okay, right?"

Callie sighed. "I'm okay. I'm a single, pregnant surgeon, and I just got divorced from the man who I originally wanted to have children with. But I'm okay." She poked out her lower lip. "I miss my family."

"So visit them," Pete said almost before she got the sentence out.

Callie frowned. "Just leave?" she asked. "Just like that?"

"Yeah. I mean, you miss your family. You're pregnant. You don't have any immediate commitments. From what I hear, you're rich as hell. Why not?" Pete shrugged.

"But Addison--"

"Wouldn't want you to stay here, missing your family. Hey, if you're really worried about her missing you, Christmas is coming up in a couple of weeks. Go for the holidays."

Callie thought about it for the rest of the night, ignoring the others as they conversed around her and eventually left. "Addison," she said slowly.

"I heard you earlier with Pete," she admitted. "If you want to go, you really should. It's a good idea."

Callie's mouth closed. "All...right. I guess that settles things."

"Advice: do everything in small doses. First tell them about the divorce and, after the shock wears off, tell them about the pregnancy."

"I love you, Addison," Callie said with a smile. "I think I'm just going to stay for the holidays because I can only take my family for short amounts of times."

"Great. That means you'll get back in time for me to do an ultrasound. I _really_ want to know the gender of the baby."

**December, 2012**

"Ugh. Go home, Callie," Addison begged. "I'm so tired and you're still here!"

"You can go to sleep if you want," Callie offered. "I don't want to go home yet. I hate going home to an empty house."

"Go to the hospital. Do the workaholic thing that I so miss," Addison suggested.

"The Ocean Awareness Group made you soft. You were there far too long." Callie stood up and went into the kitchen to get a glass of wine, leaving Addison with her thoughts.

She didn't think it was L.A. that changed her. She stared down at her sleeping daughter and thought about how much she had hoped and prayed for her little miracle baby. She willingly cut down her hours. It was true; the Ocean Awareness Group did change her in some ways, but Faith was the biggest factor. She needed Faith as much as the little girl needed her.

Over the years since she first left Seattle, so many things happened. But Faith essentially saved her.

Late December, 2007

It was late, around eleven o'clock, and Addison was wearing a pair of Derek's old boxers and a ratty sweatshirt that she'd had since high school. Her hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun and her makeup had been washed away.

She was bored and lonely. Being at a private practice gave her more time to herself, and that was okay at times, especially when Callie was there to keep her company. But Callie was gone for the holidays, and Addison found herself incredibly lonely. That made her miss her days as a fast-paced surgeon in an important hospital, where she was at least respected if not liked. She was generally respected and liked by all her colleagues in L.A., but it somehow wasn't the same.

She groaned and threw the television remote across the room. There was nothing on. She picked up the remote for the stereo and turned on the CD player. One of Callie's CDs was in there and she found herself bobbing her head to the beat. She turned it up really loud to cover the silence of the house and stood up. She danced across the room into the kitchen, picking up the tune along the way. She sang into a banana as she made herself a sandwich.

Dancing to the trash can, she turned toward back to her sandwich and shrieked when she saw Pete standing there. "Oh my God." She shoved him. "You scared the life out of me!"

"I can breathe it back into you if you want me to," he said with a charming smile.

Addison ignored that remark. "Have you ever heard of _knocking_?" she demanded.

"I did knock," Pete pointed out. He held up his finger to indicate the music. "I never pegged you for the rock type."

"First of all, don't peg me. I don't like being pegged. It's vaguely insulting for you to assume things about me."

"Second of all?" Pete asked, amused.

"It's Callie's CD," she admitted.

"Ah."

"Don't do that," Addison said. She picked up her sandwich and moved into the living room. Picking up the television remote on the way, she placed it on the coffee table and picked up the stereo remote.

"Don't do what?" Pete plopped onto the couch beside her.

"You're practically sitting on top of me, Pete." She picked up her glass of iced tea and took a sip. "I was saying don't say 'ah' like you know everything about me. This CD could've been mine."

"Except Callie already had it and it wouldn't make sense to buy your own copy." Pete's eyes crinkled when he smiled.

"Now you're just mocking me." She took a bite of her sandwich and gave him a look. Hiding her mouth with her hand, she said, "Why are you here so late?"

"It's the holidays. I'm alone. You're alone. I thought we could be alone together." He smiled charmingly.

Addison wasn't impressed. "You're kidding, right?" she asked. "Pete--"

"I'm really surprised you're not a mother. You have that tone." He smiled. "I like that tone."

His casual comment struck her directly in the heart, momentarily taking her breath away. She took a long drink of her tea and cleared her throat. "You know I'm going to do my best not to use that tone anymore, right?" she asked dryly.

"It's impossible." The look on his face was gleefully challenging.

Addison changed the subject. "I'm probably going to be going to bed soon. I hate to kick you out especially because you just got here, but I'm really tired."

"I notice you don't have any decorations up," Pete said. "I think we should go get a Christmas tree."

Addison stared at him as if he was insane. "Do you see what I'm wearing?" she demanded. After that comment, she realized what she was wearing. She had to look completely dreadful.

"Sure," Pete said, undeterred. "I have a heater in my truck."

"I'm not going anywhere tonight."

"I rented _What a Wonderful Life_. It's in my truck."

"Why are you so insistent to stay in my company?" Addison asked.

"Why do you hate the holidays?" he countered.

Addison gave him an insulted look. "I do _not_ hate the holidays." Except she was lying. She did hate the holidays. She couldn't celebrate a holiday that had been so special throughout the many years of her marriage. Not without feeling like she was betraying her memories.

"Mmhmm," Pete said doubtfully. He stared at her thoughtfully. He was inexplicably drawn to her, and it didn't even matter that she really seemed certifiably insane sometimes. She was gorgeous, even wearing no makeup and clothes that were well-worn out. She had an alluring personality and she made him laugh. "I like you."

"I like you too," Addison said, pretending not to understand the weight behind his words.

"No, Addison. I _like_ you." He sighed deeply. "But I'm willing to be your friend," he took her hand, "as long as I can kiss you whenever I want." He moved a little closer to her. "And as long as you promise that there will eventually be sex."

Addison stared at him, caught up in his eyes until his words actually sank in. "Pete!" she said laughingly, pushing him away. "That sounds suspiciously like the beginnings of a relationship."

"No. Because we already established the label." He nodded seriously, like he was making sense. "If the label says friendship, that's what it is. If not, well, that's just false advertising."

She shook her head like the words were failing her. "You are--I don't even know what you are. You're crazy."

"At times," he agreed, slowly leaning closer. "But you're crazier."

"We work together."

"There are locks on our office doors," he countered.

"I have issues," Addison breathed weakly.

"Everyone has issues." Her breath tickled his lips and he could already taste her.

"You--" Addison's latest and greatest excuse was forgotten as she got lost in the sensations of Pete's lips. She got lost in the sensations, her hands gripping his strong arms and then his shoulders before finding their way into his short hair.

Pete pressed her against the armrest of the couch, pulling back when he could feel himself physically responding. "What was that last excuse?" he asked innocently, his mouth curving into a teasing smile.

"You drive a motorcycle," she rasped. His smile was contagious and she found the corners of her mouth tilting up into a lazy half smile.

"That's a weak excuse. Women find motorcycles very, _very_ sexy."

Addison raised her eyebrows. "Do they?" she asked. "Well, I happen to think motorcycles are deadly and extremely unsafe."

"Danger is half the fun. One day, when it's warmer, I'll take you for a ride." The smirk on his face indicated that he knew the double meaning behind his words.

Addison rolled her eyes. "Doubtful. I prefer my body road-rash free, thank you."

"You'll change your mind," he promised.

Addison sighed deeply. It was Christmas Eve, and she was alone yet again. Naomi and Sam were taking Maya to visit various relatives, and Violet was in San Diego visiting her parents. Cooper had emphasized the word plans and given Pete a meaningful look when talking about his holiday plans so Addison assumed there was a dirty meaning behind it. And then there was Pete, who single-handedly picked out a Christmas tree, brought it to her house, and decorated it while she was out shopping. He promised he would be by that evening after visiting with his sister, but he couldn't do anything with her Christmas day. He didn't give a reason, and that was okay with her. There was really something starting between the two and she didn't want to ruin it by being too nosy or pushy.

There was a knock on the door, and she sprang of the couch with a quick glance at the clock. It was only three. "You were earlier--" She stopped talking when she saw who was on the other side.

"By the look on your face, I can guess that I'm not the one you were expecting," Alex guessed dryly.

"No," Addison admitted, "but you can come in anyway." She noticed, as he passed her, that he was carrying three gift bags. He'd brought presents? "How did you find out where I lived?"

"I called Shepherd, he gave me the number to your work, and I called there and talked to a woman named Naomi. She made me answer a lot of questions about you before giving me your address." He looked around. "Is Callie here?"

"She went to visit her family for the holidays," Addison said. She watched his face flash from relief to disappointment. "Um, did Callie call you?"

"No," Alex said. "She left me a note and her test results when she left. I haven't heard from her since." He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and stared down at the floor. "I was going to come Thanksgiving, but I missed my flight and couldn't afford to buy a new ticket."

"Why don't you sit down," Addison suggested. She cringed when he dropped bonelessly into the chair and it slid back a few inches. That was one thing she didn't miss about Derek or Mark: their constant disregardance of the hardwood floors or the furniture. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thanks."

"I'll get you a bottle of water," Addison said, already moving toward the kitchen.

Alex watched her go, knowing she was going to call Callie.

Addison tapped her foot impatiently against the tile floor while she waited for Callie to answer.

"I was just about to call you," Callie answered with a whisper.

Momentarily rerouted, Addison asked her why she was whispering.

"I'm in the hall closet," Callie whispered.

Addison paused, unsure how to respond to that. She decided to let it go. "Alex is here."

"In L.A.?" Callie asked, alarmed.

"At my house," Addison said. There was a long pause and Addison was almost certain she had hung up. "Are you still there?"

"_Why_ is he at your house?" Callie asked. She glared at the door leading to the foyer, wishing at that moment that she had x-ray vision. She couldn't give the appropriate response by yelling because she was stuck in the stupid closet.

"Because he missed my joyful company," Addison said sardonically. "Why do you think he's at my house? You didn't call him like I've been trying to convince you to do for the past two months!"

"That doesn't explain why he's there!" Callie didn't think he cared. He was a complete and utter ass. He totally blew Addison off when she threw herself at him. He was rude to his colleagues, and he was rude to his patients.

"He _cares_. He brought _presents._"

Callie gripped the phone, thinking fast. She didn't know what to do about this. Being at her parents' house was driving her crazy. "Tell him--" She cut herself off when the door opened.

"Calliope," her father said, "why are you in the closet?"

Callie cleared her throat. "Better cell phone reception," she said seriously.

He stared down at her and nodded before reaching out and taking a jacket from one of the hangers. "Young William will be leaving soon," he said before closing the door behind him.

Callie finished what she was going to say. "Tell him the pregnancy is going fine and that I'm due June 30."

"Callie, this is really--"

"Excuse me," Alex said from right beside her before taking the phone.

"I'm off until the twenty-eighth. I would really like to talk to you in person," Alex said as soon as he got the phone to his ear.

Callie mentally cursed Addison. "I'll be home on the twenty-sixth," she said begrudgingly. She didn't want to talk to him any longer than she had to. She just wanted to go to bed.

"I'll see you then." Alex held out the phone for Addison, but when she put it to her ear, all she heard was the dial tone. It seemed Callie was angry with her.

**I was going to continue, but I wanted to update. Anyway, I already started the next chapter and I've been writing like a maniac. I might finish Unlikely Love. I don't know. Doesn't seem very likely. haha. It's UNlikely. I make myself laugh**


	6. Chapter Five

**Usually it takes me ten zillion years to update, but I have Kendel AND my sister harrassing me for updates. **

_**December 26, 2007**_

Callie quietly let herself into the house through the back door. She could see Pete leaning over a newspaper on the kitchen counter while eating pie straight out of the pie pan. She momentarily thought of just heading up to her room, but the opportunity presented to her was too good to pass up. She walked in and cleared her throat.

Pete dropped the pie pan and wiped his mouth before turning around. He visibly relaxed when he saw Callie. "I thought you were Addison," he explained lamely.

"Uh huh." She dropped her duffle bag and moved further into the kitchen. "I bet you would've greeted me a little differently if I was," she said with a smirk, staring pointedly at the pajama pants and undershirt he was wearing. "I'm so proud that you finally convinced her to sleep with you."

Pete pulled her into a friendly, one-armed hug. "Hasn't happened quite yet," he told her with a mournful shake of his head.

Callie patted his back. "By New Years," she assured him. She pulled away with a wink.

"I'm not that easy," Addison said as she breezed in. She threw her arms around Callie. "Alex is asleep in the living room," she whispered. "If you want to run, now's your chance."

Callie pulled back with a grin. Addison was her savior, but she needed to stop relying on everyone else to save her. She needed to pull it together and start saving herself. "You need to take Pete out. Wine him, dine him, and have your wicked way with him. Don't make him sleep on the couch again."

"For the record, I didn't sleep on the couch," Pete said. He grinned at her. "I slept in your room."

"Don't have sex with Alex," Addison interjected. "We're going out so I won't be here to politely interrupt."

"No sex? And here I am trying to get you laid," Callie said with mock-disappointment, shaking her head.

"I'm not opposed to you having sex with him," Pete said helpfully. Addison gave him a look that clearly told him to keep his unhelpful comments to himself.

Callie smiled slightly. "I'll be fine."

Addison started to turn away but paused, as if waiting for Callie to tell her not to go. When Callie didn't say anything, she grabbed Pete by the elbow and started to drag him out.

"I'm in my pajamas!" Pete protested.

"That's your fault," Addison said. "You've been awake since about six this morning. You should've changed."

Pete stopped trying to pull away and smirked at her. "You knew when I got up?" he asked.

Callie smiled to herself as she listened to Pete do his best to make Addison admit she had been hoping he would jump her in the night. When the door was closed behind them, she sighed to herself and took a bite of the apple pie Pete had left on the counter. She groaned and took another bite before opening the refrigerator door and taking a swig of milk straight from the carton. When she was sure she was ready, she marched straight into the living room.

Alex was fast asleep on the couch. He was snoring softly and there was a puddle of drool on the pillow his head was on.

Callie made a face and had a sudden, inexplicable urge to hit him with one of the throw pillows sitting on the floor at the end of the sofa. She quelled the urge and grabbed the remote from the coffee table and then plopped into a chair. She flipped through the channels and settled on a music channel.

She settled back into the chair and thought about her time with her parents. The first day was good, but when she broke the news of the divorce on the second day, things started going steadily downhill. It was to be expected, but all the "proper" men made her feel like she wasn't ever going to be what her mom wanted. Over Christmas dinner, she finally just ripped the bandaide off and told her parents about the baby. Her mom was shocked and appalled and made no secret of it. Her dad was quiet for quite a while before smiling and congratulating her. He promised to give support when and where she needed it, but the faint disappointment on his face hurt far more than her mother's stony silences ever could.

Leaving was a big relief for her. She was glad to be home, even if she did have to face something she'd been putting off for quite a while. Her thoughts eventually drifted to meaningless things and she fell asleep thinking about how much she wished she'd finished that pie off.

Callie woke abruptly when Alex hit his shin against the coffee table and started cursing. "What the hell? Karev, there's a table there."

"Thanks. I noticed," Alex said dryly, straightening and heading to the bathroom.

Callie yawned widely and glanced at the clock, realizing by the pain in her back, as well as the time, that she'd been asleep for a few hours. "Why did you sleep all day?" she asked when Alex came back into the living room.

"I didn't get much sleep last night. Darling Pete showed up at around one o'clock in this morning with the _clear_ intentions of a sleep over with Montgomery. Because I was here, they decided to turn it into some sort of bonding thing." He gave her an exhasperated look. "I hate Pete."

"I love Pete," Callie said defiantly. He tended to put a smile on Addison's face, and he sometimes reminded her of Mark, who she actually missed. She sighed, thinking of Mark. He was a dirty manwhore, but he wanted her, and he could at least pretend to like her for more than sex. "I'm going to get some food."

Alex flipped through the channels until Callie emerged from the kitchen with the rest of the apple pie, a plate containing mashed potatoes and gravy, and a glass of milk. "Looks appetizing," he commented.

"I'm _pregnant_. Don't comment about what I eat unless you want me to practice my surgical skills on you." Callie took a bit of the pie and glared at Alex as if daring him to comment.

Alex decided to change the subject. "I brought presents," he said, reaching below the coffee table and pulling out two neatly wrapped gifts. "I bought one for Addison too. I figured it would be rude not to. I bought her a picture frame."

"Hm. Did she like it?" Callie asked as she took the offered presents. She studied them as she took a small bit of the mashed potatoes.

"Oh, yeah. She even hugged me."

Callie chose not to comment, choosing to take another bite of the mashed potatoes. She slowly reached out and tugged on the red ribbon and slid her finger behind the tape so she didn't rip the wrapping paper. "You didn't have to get me anything." She gave him a look. "I'm not going to get you anything."

"I didn't ask you to get me anything," Alex said. "I've heard that you're not supposed to expect a gift. It's all in the giving or something." He watched her slowly unwrap each end. "Callie. I'll buy you more wrapping paper. Rip into it."

Callie ignored him and slowly finished unwrapping the gift. Inside the blue box, there was a small, gold-plated bible. She looked up at him in question.

"I never wanted kids," he said slowly. "I hated the very thought. But there was always the possibility so I kept this bible, which my grandmother gave my father, who gave it to me when I was born. It's worth...a lot."

"You don't want kids?" Callie asked, frowning deeply. That never really occurred to her, but it probably should have.

"I didn't." Alex sighed. "I was freaked out," he admitted. "I figured, after the third day, you weren't going to call, and I was..._relieved_. But the more I thought about it...I want a boy. I really want to do everything right. So I got a plane ticket during Thanksgiving." He shrugged. "I missed my flight and my chance so I waited until Christmas Eve."

Callie was oddly touched and she felt suddenly choked up. She stared at him, her eyes sparkling. "I hate you," she said weakly, the tears evident in her voice. She wiped away a stray tear before it could fall down her face. "I really hate you, Alex Karev."

Alex's hand twitched as if he was going to reach out, but he didn't. "And we haven't even gotten to the other present yet," he said sardonically. He sighed when that didn't bring even the smallest smile to her face. "I..." He cleared his throat nervously. "I want this baby, and I _need_ a chance to be a father to it...even if it's a girl..."

Callie choked out a laugh. "You're a complete ass," she informed him. She stared down at the beautiful bible. "Look...I want you to know I'm not going back to Seattle while I'm pregnant. I want you to know that so you can figure out travel plans for when the baby's born."

Alex opened his mouth to argue. Then he remembered that he was trying to be _supportive_. "I know that you and O'Malley are having issues," he said in what he hoped was a gentle voice, "but he's an intern at Mercy West now and there's no reason for you not to come home. You can't just stay down here. It's--it wouldn't be fair."

Callie sputtered in indignation. "Excuse me? _Fair_? You want to talk to me about _fair_?" She put the gifts on the floor and leaned forward. "I dropped eight pounds before I started gaining anything, and I had to go shopping when I was at my parents' house because nothing fit me right. My husband slept with Dr. Barbie and then didn't own up to it for months. We were working on our marriage when I slept with you and got pregnant. It was only then that I was able to leave him. I'm bored half to death here where everything's sunshine and freakin happiness, but I can't go back yet! So shut up about fair." She grabbed the unopened gift off the floor and ripped it open. "A picture frame. Props to you for repetiveness."

Alex watched in silence as she stomped to her room. So much for being supportive.

--

Callie grunted when Addison plopped down on her bed. "Alex says you're angry," Addison commented.

"I'm frustrated. He doesn't seem to understand that I _can't _go back. Not yet." She sighed deeply. "He hates Pete."

"He's entitled, though he has no real reason to. Pete has been nothing but nice to him. He even included Alex last night when we watched--and mocked--several old Christmas movies."

"Yeah. He said you two turned it into a bonding thing," Callie said laughingly. She turned her head. "He wants to be part of the baby's life or whatever. He's sort of weird toward me. For a second, before he completely offended me, I thought he was going to grab my hand or something."

Addison raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"What if...what if he wants to be with me or something?" Callie asked. The idea just occurred to her, and it was scaring her a little.

"Wait it out," Addison advised. "He's tricky, and he gives out completely mixed signals." She narrowed her eyes as she remembered how he led her on and then rejected her every time, making her feel like a complete idiot. "I think there may be potential there, but you should wait until he comes to you."

"I have this crazy urge to poke fun at your romantic life," Callie said.

"Hey," Addison said. "Things are looking up. I have a guy right now. I mean, we're not really that serious, but I still have a guy."

"You're not that serious?" Callie questioned. "It seems to me that Pete is really serious. All our sex jokes aside, I think he really likes you."

"And I like him," Addison said. "He's really funny and completely gorgeous, but we just became...whatever it is we are."

"Mm hm," Callie said doubtfully. "I think you should just have sex with him."

"We haven't even been on a date," Addison said, rolling her eyes.

"That didn't stop you with Mark," Callie reminded her. "Or Alex, for that matter. How many dates is it even going to take?"

"Three," Addison said, giving her a look that said the answer should've been obvious.

"That's stupid. It's a good rule for some cases, but you and Pete have been sort of friends for that past four or five months. I don't see why you two can't just have sex."

"Me neither," Pete said from the doorway.

Callie sat up and mock-glared at him. "Invading my privacy, dearest?" she asked sweetly.

"Of course not, honey," Pete said in the same tone. "I just came in and caught the tail-end of your statement and felt the need to agree. I actually came in to say that I have to go. I have to go across town to tend to a patient."

"Bye, love," Callie teased. "I'll see you in my dreams."

"Always," Pete said, clutching his chest.

Addison rolled her eyes. "I feel like a third wheel."

"That's because he's only with you to get to me," Callie said. "He's been in love with me from the very start."

"I feel so used," Addison said dryly.

Pete walked further into the room and gave Addison a chaste kiss. "Nonsense," he said, winking at Callie. "I just want to sleep with Callie. I want to sleep with you _and_ date you."

"That's much better." Addison's mouth twitched into an amused half-smile, and she watched him head out.

"Alex is in your living room alone," Callie told her.

Addison turned on her side and pulled the blankets over herself. She could smell Pete in Callie's blankets. "Feel free to go keep him company," she said. "I'm tired, and I want to sleep."

"You've gone soft," Callie said, not moving from where she'd dropped back down when Pete walked out. "You're never going to be able to go back to being a hardcore surgeon."

"Whatever. I've still got it," Addison said sleepily.

_**December, 2012**_

"Callie!" Addison protested when something tickled her toes. She wrinkled her nose but didn't open her eyes. She thought briefly of kicking her best friend but decided it would take too much effort to move her foot.

"Callie's asleep."

Addison opened her eyes and saw that most of the lights were off. "I thought you had to go back to work," she whispered into the darkness. She could feel her husband's presence. He'd come back briefly but had to go back to the hospital soon after arriving home.

"False alarm. Not even operable."

"'Kay. Go up to bed," Addison said sleepily, letting her eyes fall shut. "I'll be up there in a minute."

There was a low chuckle. "I already put Faith to bed." Strong arms slid under her knees and behind her neck. "Callie's slumped over the side of the couch, and her back will not thank me if I leave her like that."

"Her own fault," Addison mumbled, curling into his body as he lifted her. She drifted in an out of consciousness until he gently set her on the bed. She was vaguely aware of him climbing into bed a few minutes later, but she was too tired to care.

_**December 27, 2007**_

"I hate plastic surgeons," Callie announced when she sat down to lunch with Addison, Pete, and Alex. She was beind nice to Alex, and he was making an effort to be a gentleman. "No offense to your lecherous ex," she added with a quick look at Addison.

"You slept with him too," Addison reminded her.

Pete looked over at Alex. "You're a plastic surgeon?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. He could've sworn he'd heard him say the night before that he'd changed his focus to neonatology.

"They're not talking about me," Alex said.

Pete looked between Addison and Callie.

"It's a long story," Addison said.

"I'm going to let it go," Pete decided.

"Good choice," Addison and Callie chorused.

_**December 31, 2007 **_

Addison checked her watch as she pulled into her driveway. She was unbelievably late to Pete's New Year party, and she still had to get ready. A young woman in labor had come in at about seven a.m. but hadn't had her baby until a little after nine p.m. Pete's party started at eight.

Addison pulled a note off the door saying Callie had already left for the party. She started shedding her clothes as soon as she stepped through the door. Stepping into the bathroom, she pulled her hair into a clip and turned the shower on. The doorbell rang and she barely remembered to grab a robe before going back to the door. She yanked it open to reveal Derek Shepherd holding an overnight bag and a bottle of wine.

"Happy New Year,"he said cheerfully.

The breath fled her lungs. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest to hide her discomfort.

"Can I come in?" he asked instead of answering her.

"Derek, I have to be somewhere like two hours ago. I don't have time for your," she gave him a weird look, "cheerful sponteneity."

Derek handed her the bottle of wine and kissed her on the cheek. "I missed you," he said, stepping past her into the house.

Addison closed the door behind herself and followed him into the living room. "Derek, I'm serious. I have to take a shower and then I have to leave."

Derek glanced around the room before allowing his eyes to come to a rest on her. "I never remember your hostess skills being this bad."

"Derek, you're not my guest! You're my ex-husband. I'm going to take a shower."

When she emerged from the bathroom in a tank top and shorts, she found him with his feet propped on the coffee table sipping wine.

"It's ten-thirty," Derek said, flipping through the channels on the television. "Better hurry up or you'll miss the party all together."

Addison rolled her eyes and went to change and do her hair. She was struggling with the zipper on her little black dress when her hands were slapped away to be replaced with Derek's.

"Your bedroom is...cute," he commented as he slowly slid the zipper up. He smoothed her slightly frizzy curls down. "Looks like you're ready to go."

"Yeah," Addison said. She turned around and smiled at him. "It really is good to see you."

Derek smiled slightly and pushed her hair out of her face. "Your hair looks bad."

"It looks fabulous."

"You forgot to put mascara on your left eye."

Addison narrowed her eyes and turned back to the mirror. "Derek! I'm not _wearing_ mascara."

"You're not? My mistake." He let his eyes travel down her body. "I really missed you."

"Stop," Addison ordered, abruptly turning to face him. "You can't leer at me like that and talk in that soft voice and do the eyes--"

"What eyes?" Derek asked curiously, tilting his head slightly. He fought the urge to reach out and play with her hair or just plain kiss her.

"Stop!" she said firmly.

"I'm not doing anything." He smiled at her reassuringly.

Addison stared at him. She felt hot all over, and her heart was racing. He had the look and the eyes, and he was standing there innocently. She leaned forward and kissed him.

Derek wrapped his arms around her and immediately deepened the kiss. They fell into a rhythm they'd perfected over the years.

Addison's dress fell to the floor without a sound. Derek laughed slightly when he saw Addison's bra and panties. "I bought this," he said, brushing his fingers over the cup of the bra. He reached behind her and undid the clasp. "It looks much better on the floor."

On the bathroom counter, Addison's phone vibrated, the caller ID reading _Pete Wilder._

_--_

"Eight minutes until midnight," Derek said, lazily sliding his hand up and down Addison's leg.

"Hm," Addison said noncommitally. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Why did you come down here?"

"To start the year off right," Derek said, sitting up and grinning at her. "I also brought Christmas presents."

Addison rolled her eyes. "You came here just to get laid? You do realize you're a catch, right? You could've gone to a bar or even taken a leaf out of Mark's book and screwed one of the nurses."

"Gee, Addi, I never knew you thought so much of me," Derek teased. "I wanted to start my year off with _you_."

"Derek, I have a sort of boyfriend."

"And I have a girlfriend."

Relief showed on Addison's face. "Really?"

Derek shook his head and chuckled. "No." He kissed her and pushed her back into the pillows.

The two were too caught up to notice when it officially became 2008.

--

Callie walked into the silent house at half past three. She had ridden home with Violet instead of allowing Pete to take her home, not knowing Addison's reasoning for skipping out on the party. She walked into the living room, where the television was playing nonstop infomercials and spotted a large duffel bag.

Glancing toward Addison's room, she crouched down and checked the luggage tag. She laughed lightly when she saw Derek Shepherd's name. Shaking her head, she stood up and headed to bed. She was so making fun of Addison in the morning.


	7. Chapter Six

**So this chapter...i don't know. It's good, i guess. Kinda funny. It clears like...one thing up at least. **

**_January 1, 2008_**

Addison woke up about twenty minutes before Derek. She slipped out of bed as quietly as possible and went into the bathroom. She felt vaguely guilty for sleeping with Derek when she had just started something with Pete, but she had a history with Derek and that had to cancel _something _out.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she found Callie eating a bowl of cereal. Callie wiped her mouth and smirked at Addison. "You ditched me at your _boyfriend's_ house to have sex with your ex-husband."

"It was an accident," Addison said sulkily, dropping to a chair and laying her head on her arms.

That startled a laugh from Callie. "An accident. I would really like to know how accidents like _that_ happen."

"Shut up. I didn't mean...I lost control of myself. Things like this happen _all_ the time." She stood up and started looking for something to eat.

"No need to get defensive with me," Callie said. "I'm _glad_ you got to start the new year out with a bang. I'm not so sure what your _boyfriend _will think, but _I'm_ happy for you."

Derek entered the kitchen looking disheveled in the clothes he'd arrived in the night before. He looked around and spotted the empty coffee pot. "No coffee?" he asked, looking vaguely disturbed.

Callie raised her hand. "Pregnant."

"I'm not pregnant," Derek said. "I need coffee."

Callie glanced at Addison who was casually spreading cream cheese on a bagel. "There's coffee in the pantry behind the brownie mix," she finally said when Addison didn't say anything.

Addison looked up at that. "We have coffee?"

Derek looked around and opened a door on his right. He moved into the pantry and reemerged with a can of coffee.

"I bought it," Callie said unabashedly. "I've been practically mainlining coffee since college. Cold turkey would _kill_ me."

"Exaggeration," Derek said.

"Tell you what," Callie said. "_You_ quit drinking coffee and then tell me it's an exaggeration."

Derek chose to keep his mouth shut. He found filters in the cabinet above the coffee maker, along with the cream and sugar and experimentally opened the cabinet above the counter to the left of the sink and smiled slightly when he found the coffee mugs. He started randomly opening cabinets, his smile widening with each one he opened. As he started to open another one, Addison slammed it shut and glared at him.

"Stop acting like a lunatic," she ordered.

"Everything is the same," he pointed out with a grin.

"It's easier to find things," she said defensively.

"Then you would've went back to how it was in New York," Derek countered, kissing her lightly on the lips.

Addison made a face and lightly pushed him away. "I got used to it."

"And the year you haven't lived in the trailer?"

"Shut up," Addison said, finally cracking a smile.

Callie's spoon clattered loudly against the bottom of the sink and Addison turned toward her. "You two are completely insane. It's making me nauseous." She looked at her watch and did an exaggerated gasp. "I forgot to tell you, in all the times I've talked to you since last night, that Pete will be by in half an hour to take us to breakfast."

The smile fell from Addison's face. "Oh my God. Callie, _please_ call him and tell him I've already left to have breakfast with a friend."

"The only friends you have in L.A. work at Oceanside and he knows that."

"Tell him we're going out because you're having a weird craving for water melon."

"Please. He would do anything for me...including find me a water melon in winter. New excuse."

"You have a doctor's appointment."

"Naomi's my doctor," Callie said patronizingly, amused at Addison's plight.

"I hate you."

"Hey. You're the one who needs an excuse to keep your boyfriend away so he won't know that your ex husband stayed the night," Callie said relentlessly.

Derek quietly made himself a cup of coffee while the two women talked. He glanced up and found Addison looking at him. "What?" he asked. "I'm still packed and I can leave, but the obvious solution is to tell him the truth: You're going out with an old friend."

Addison turned to Callie who rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Leave then because _I_ want Pete to take me to work with him since you're not available."

"Kicking me out of my own home before I get to eat," Addison muttered good naturedly.

"Think of it as punishment for being a bad girlfriend," Callie advised.

"I hate you."

"Too over used and such a lie." Callie smirked at her friend. "Now go!"

"Come on, Derek. We'll go out for breakfast before your flight."

"Remember that public indecency is illegal," Callie called as they walked out of the house.

Addison slammed the door behind her with a roll of her eyes. "Don't get any ideas," she said when she saw the look on Derek's face.

"Too late."

Inside, Callie dialed Pete's number and listened to his ringback tone with a roll of her eyes. "Change your ringback tone," she said when he answered.

"I like it," Pete responded with a grin.

"You are so secretly gay," Callie laughed. "I called to tell you Addison went out for breakfast with an old friend. You can take me out though..."

Pete let out a frustrated sigh, all amusement gone. "Is she mad at me or something? Did I do something wrong?"

Callie felt bad for the poor guy. "I don't think so. She was catching up with her friend last night and the time got away from them." She wasn't exactly lying, though "catching up" was a little less graphic than what she wanted to say. "She'll call you later."

"If it were anyone else..." He trailed off. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Callie hung up and made a face. Poor Pete. She was going to kill Addison.

_**December, 2012**_

"Get off of me," Addison muttered.

"Your husband just fell on top of me, and I think he broke all the bones on the left side of my body," Callie said, not moving her head from Addison's stomach.

"He doesn't weigh that much. Besides, you're a bone doctor. You know the likelyhood of that."

"Sometimes, I want to kick you really hard in the face. I'm allowed to overexaggerate about bones. It's my profession and I'm allowed." Callie wiggled a little and got comfortable. She was laying horizontally across the bed and her legs were hanging off the bed. "Especially at four-twenty-three in the morning."

Addison cracked her eyes open. She was met with complete darkness. She turned her head slightly to look at the blinding red numbers on her alarm clock and saw that Callie was right. "Why did he fall on you in the middle of the night?"

"He's always wanted me. It all goes back to when you went to L.A."

"You're such a liar. He went back to work, didn't he?"

"Of course. He was paged. I heard it and reached for my pager. Then he rushed into the living room, hit his shin on the coffee table, hopped around, and fell on top of me."

"Bet you loved that," Addison said dryly.

"Most action I've gotten in a while," Callie agreed. She turned on her side and moved her head to get comfortable. "Besides this, that is."

"You make me tired." She put her arm over her eyes. "And I now have a headache from straining my eyes to see you in the dark."

"Your fault," Callie said laughingly. "I've had my eyes closed all this time."

The bedroom door opened a small crack and a tall shadowed figure moved into the room.

"You're going to have to share a bed with me," Callie said. "I'm not moving."

"I've had to share my wife with you for years. Why don't you go home for a change?" The bed dipped slightly and Callie grinned triumphantly when he settled comfortably on the other side of Addison.

"I let you have her all to yourself weekends and holidays. Give it up. We have a fixed custody agreement."

"Except when she's mad at me. Then you hog her and never let me talk to her."

"Always your fault," Callie said. She moved around to find a comfortable position and realized that she wanted to stretch her legs out. Meaning she would have to actually move. She sighed and moved so she was laying correctly on the bed.

"Go to sleep. I'm tired, and I have a surgery in eight hours. I can get five hours if I'm lucky."

Callie made a face and resisted the urge to keep him awake.

_**January, 2008**_

"I wish you would let me do this," Addison grumbled. "Not that Naomi isn't great," she added. She didn't think it was fair that she couldn't do anything for Callie as a doctor.

"I've explained it too many times to count," Callie groaned.

"I understand that you don't want to use me as a gynecologist, but I could've done the ultrasound." She sounded sulky.

"If you talk to Pete, you can do it," Callie finally said.

Addison pursed her lips. "You play dirty, Callie Torres." She had been actively avoiding Pete for three days. She felt bad, but she didn't want to talk to him quite yet. Unfortunately, their working situation was making things far too difficult...and so was Callie.

"I'm trying to _help_ you. I'm not telling you to confess anything. Just _talk_ to him. Say hello. Be a pal."

"Let it go," Addison said, her tone saying the subject was no longer up for discussion.

"Fine. But you're not going to do the ultrasound."

"Fine. For the record, if you do talk to Pete, I do think you should tell him about Derek. That, or let him down easy so I can have my wicked way with him. Oh, yeah, and omit the airport details." Callie ignored the color that rose in Addison's cheeks. "Pete actually _likes_ you and he doesn't need to hear about you two getting it on in the bathroom. Or the car. Or any other place between your house and the airport."

The door to the exam room opened and Naomi walked in. "Are you ready?" she asked with an obviously excited smile.

Callie tore her eyes away from Addison's ashamed face. She was actually happy Addison was able to loosen up some, even if it was with her ex-husband, but Pete had become a really good friend. "I'm ready," she said.

It wasn't until the gel was already on and the wand was gliding over her slight baby bump that Callie realized she was about to find out the sex of her baby. Addison saw the panic sieze Callie and reached over to take her hand.

Callie felt like her heart stopped when she saw the monitor and heard the heartbeart. It wasn't her first ultrasound or time to see the baby, but it really struck her that the fetus, the _baby_, growing inside of her was going to be totally dependent on her. She could see the baby so clearly, the nose, mouth...

A grin streched across Addison's face. "You're having a boy!" she said excitedly. She used her pinky to point out the clear evidence: Callie was having a son.

--

"You've been constantly avoiding me," Pete said into Addison's ear. He was surprised when she jumped, spilling coffee over the countertop and herself. Curses fell from her mouth as she grabbed the paper towels and hurried to clean up the mess. Pete took over cleaning, his arms boxing her in as he wiped up the hot liquid.

When it was mostly cleaned, he gently took her scalded hand. "I didn't mean to scare you," he said apologetically, softly running his finger over her hand.

Addison turned to face him, steeling herself for what she was going to have to do. "Pete--"

Pete leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss against her lips. "You're about to break up with me." He grinned, thoroughly confusing Addison with his happiness. "You can't break up with me, remember? We're just friends."

Addison rolled her eyes and pushed him away. "Be serious." She folded her arms and gave him a hard stare.

Pete sighed and cupped her elbows. He pulled her closer and leaned in so they were nose to nose. "I don't care," he said emphatically.

Addison's eyebrows shot up. "You don't care about what?" she asked warily.

"Whatever's making you so guilty you feel like you need to break up with me. I don't care." His fingers skimmed over the soft skin of her cheek and settled in her hair. "It doesn't matter because we're a perfect fit. We could be good together if you allow us to be."

Addison felt helpless as she sank into the kiss. She had _tried_ to tell him, but this was okay too.

--

Callie sat in the recliner with her laptop perched on her knees. She kept glancing at Pete, who was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. She was confused.

Addison was sitting at the desk on her home computer which was in the office, in plain view of the living room. A chat window popped up.

_**Callie - IT'S A BOY! I'm thinking of Tyler Alexander: **__what's going on?!_

Addison glanced into the living room where Callie looked emphatically at Pete, who was obliviously reading the newspaper.

_**Addison: **__I tried to break up with him, but he wouldn't let me._

Callie raised her eyebrows when she read that.

_**Callie - IT'S A BOY! I'm thinking of Tyler Alexander:**__ what do you mean he wouldn't LET you? it's not hard...Pete, i'm a lying, cheating WHORE and I'm breaking up with you_

_**Addison:**_ _-- _

_**Addison: **__He wouldn't let me tell him. He kissed me and said I couldn't break up with him because we were just friends. And then he said he didn't care about whatever it was i was going to tell him because we could be good together_

Callie shook her head and mentally rolled her eyes.

_**Callie - IT'S A BOY! I'm thinking of Tyler Alexander:**__ he luuuurves you_

Addison frowned.

_**Addison: **__He doesn't. Or he shouldn't. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore_

_**Callie - IT'S A BOY! I'm thinking of Tyler Alexander:**__ join the club. try not to have sex with anymore of your exes and i think you'll be pretty good from here on out_

Callie laughed at a thought that popped into her head.

_**Callie - IT'S A BOY! I'm thinking of Tyler Alexander: **__let's just hope mark doesn't visit. LOL_

_**Addison: **__With Mark, I would be more worried about you than me. _

_**Callie - IT'S A BOY! I'm thinking of Tyler Alexander: **__:D_

Callie grinned when it showed at the top of the screen that Addison was offline. She gave her friend a cheeky smile when she came into the living room and plopped down onto the couch beside Pete and flipped through the channels. She was obviously ignoring Callie, and that made Callie laugh.

Pete looked over at her. "Laughing at us or your cyber friends?"

"A little of both," Callie said with a shrug. She closed the computer and grinned at Pete. "Are you taking us out or what?"

"Or what," Pete said, going back to the newspaper. "All I'm getting out of my relationship with you, Callie, is a lighter wallet. If you cook for me tonight, I will cook for you--or take you out--tomorrow."

Addison grimaced when her cell phone vibrated. She pulled it out and flipped it open. There was one new message and it was from Derek.

_did u open the present yet?_

Addison glanced at Pete, who seemed so relaxed and happy. She deleted the message and decided not to respond. The three unopened presents were in the top of her closet, behind some shoes. She didn't have it in her to open them, and she didn't want to hurt Pete. She felt bad enough as it was.

-

**Just so everyone knows, I had plans and now they're all messed up. i'm currently trying to rework everything to the mental changes in my head.**


	8. Chapter Seven

**A/N: There's no excuse so I'm just going to apologize. Sorry. I didn't read over this. Maybe tomorrow.**

**Territory and Issues**

_**February, 2008**_

Callie was thinking. She was thinking and reading and totally encroaching on Dell's territory.

"Callie," Dell said exasperatedly.

"Dell," Callie said in the same tone, albeit a bit more breathless. She was crouched in front of Dell's filing cabinet looking through his files. Her belly was making itself more and more known, and it was getting harder to do things. After a few minutes of trying to stay like that, she just gave up and sat on the floor. "I'm bored so stop looking at me like that."

"Callie," Dell said with a sigh, sitting down beside her. "I really like you as a person, but this is my territory."

"I'm not pissing on it," Callie said irritably. "I just want to read some medical files. _Medical_. I wish Addison had chose to go to a damn hospital. I _hate_ this place."

"Callie," Pete said, leaning over the front desk. "You need to be a little nicer. It really hurts when you put down the Group just because you're an angry pregnant lady."

Callie looked up at him and told him, in no uncertain terms, where he could go.

Pete tsked. "Come on," he said, rounding the desk. He shot an apologetic look at Dell and helped Callie to her feet.

"Your filing system makes no sense," Callie said petulantly, grabbing a few files from the cabinet before Pete could completely drag her away.

"She's not very nice," Dell said to no one in particular.

"Don't take offense," Naomi advised distractedly. "She's hormonal and not used to being at a private practice. She's a surgeon."

"I'm a surgeon too," Addison said sulkily.

"Not anymore," Naomi said. "Callie can't let it go, though. Not like you did."

Addison narrowed her eyes, taking offense to that statement. She was not going soft. She was _not_ _going soft_.

--

"You think you can solve everything with me by stuffing me full of food," Callie said, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring down at the table while Pete moved around in the kitchen.

Pete smirked to himself as he arranged the food on the plate. He knew that eggs made Callie nauseous so, instead of a world-famous omlet, he was making blueberry pancakes from a box. It was nearly two in the afternoon, but he knew she would like it. She tended to like his food.

"I hate you," Callie said mutinously. She stared at the pancakes as he put the plate in front of her. "I really, _really_ hate you, Pete Wilder." She sighed as she took the fork and knife he handed her.

"You're my favorite person to cook for," Pete said with a grin as he sat beside her with his pancakes. "Addison won't eat like you will."

"You're a complete ass," Callie said, frowning deeply. "You like me because I'm fat and pregnant and I'll eat your fatty foods."

"I like you because you're not afraid to try my fatty foods," Pete corrected. "And you're perfectly healthy. You're at the perfect weight for the fifth month, in accordance to your normal weight and general body structure."

"Don't talk about my weight anymore," Callie said through a mouth full of pancakes. "It depresses me."

Pete laughed. Callie was not like other women, but that was such a typical woman response that it struck him as funny. "So we should really discuss your unending issue with Oceanside."

Callie frowned deeply and hurriedly swallowed her mouth full of food. "I don't have a...an _unending issue_. With anything."

"It seems to me that you're angry with the Group because it's not as fast-paced as you would like."

"Pete, I think you missed your calling with therapy. Why waste your time with Eastern medicine when deep down you're really a therapist?"

Pete's mouth twitched and he pretended to wipe it with a napkin as he looked down at his plate to get his mirth under control. "Callie, I love you deeply, but you're just being mean to everyone around you."

"Am I hurting your feelings?" she asked bluntly.

"No. I think you're hilarious," he admitted.

"Everyone knows I'm pregnant. Everyone knows that I'm a _surgeon_. No one's going to take offense." She paused thoughtfully. "Except Dell," she added when it looked like Pete was about to say something.

Pete sighed. "I see that I'm never going to get through to you."

"Pointless to try," Callie said agreeably.

"Fine. But you can't eat my food." He grabbed her plate and she grabbed his hand.

"That's not very nice," she said, raising her eyebrow threateningly.

Pete smirked. "I'm not actually afraid of you," he said.

Callie stood up with a glare, her hand not leaving his hand which, in turn, had not left the plate.

Pete smiled charmingly. "Callie, it's not fair that you're eating my food and won't even listen to me," he said reasonably.

"Hey, I cook you dinner sometimes. Besides, _you_ are the one always trying to feed _me_. You can't just put a plate in front of me and then take it away."

Pete leaned forward so they were nose to nose. "Looks like I am anyway." He easily twisted his hand out of her grip and grabbed the plate.

Twenty minutes later, Addison breezed into the house to get some paperwork from the office and found Pete sulkily watching television while Callie flipped through a magazine with an amused smirk. "What's going on?" she asked.

Pete frowned. "Your _friend_," he shot Callie a dirty look, "_bit_ me."

Addison looked over at Callie who raised her hands innocently. "I was playing with him, and it wasn't even that hard."

"She laughed at me."

"He squealed girlishly. It warranted laughter," Callie promised.

Addison sighed. "I feel like I should put both of you in time out."

"I didn't do anything," Pete said defensively.

"Way to sound a little more grown up," Callie mock-whispered.

"I don't like you."

"Thank God. I thought I was going to have to make you god father or something ridiculous like that."

Addison glanced at her watch. "I have an appointment in fifteen minutes. If I leave, will you two behave?"

"No," they chorused.

"Good. I'll see you both later," Addison said, rolling her eyes.

_**December, 2012**_

"This is uncomfortable," Callie decided.

"You're doing the downward facing dog," Addison said. "I don't think it's meant to be comfortable."

Callie slowly lowered her knees back to the floor and sat up. "I think my entire brain is flowing south. My head feels like what I'm sure Izzie's feels like every day."

"I love your Izzie jokes. They're very muchly the equivelent of everyone else's blonde jokes."

"She has three kids. She gave up surgery after fighting so hard for it after screwing up as an intern. She's the ultimate blonde joke in my head."

"You talk like she hasn't been successful. She's thirty something and still gorgeous, even after having three kids. She's a part-time nurse, _and _she married your ex-husband. I'd say that's pretty successful."

"Whore."

"Fairly accurate considering I've slept with _your_ boyfriend."

Callie made a face and stood up. "I came close to sleeping with your husband." She sighed and plopped onto the couch. "I'll wait until New Year to start yoga. That can be my resolution."

Addison looked out into the backyard where Faith was attempting to build a snowman with Sam and Maya.

"I don't think he was built for this type of weather," Callie said, moving to the window.

"He lived in New York for years before moving to L.A. He got soft."

"Like you."

"I don't know how my ego has stayed in tact after being friends with you for so long."

"Me neither," Callie said truthfully. "I don't understand why they're coming here for Christmas this year. I wanted to go to L.A."

"It was Pete's idea," Addison said, giving Callie an emphatic look.

"I don't know why he's still around," Callie said with a sigh.

"It has to be the sex," Addison said.

"Or the love. That part's gotta play a big part too."

_**February, 2008**_

Callie laid Addison's medical file on the table in front of Naomi. "She has a chance. It's slim, but there's a chance."

Naomi looked at the files and knew immediately what Callie was getting at. "You didn't talk to Addison about this, did you?" she asked worriedly.

Callie frowned deeply. "What I want to know is why you haven't," she said firmly.

"There's barely a chance. In all likelyhood, Addison will just end up getting hurt. I don't want to get her hopes up." Naomi stared at her earnestly, willing her to understand.

Callie softened. But only slightly. "You have to give Addison that choice. As a friend, I can see why you would be worried, but as a doctor, you should do everything in your power to give her a baby." She sat down in one of the chairs across from Naomi's desk. "You've known her for years, Naomi. Give her a chance to choose for herself what she wants."

Addison stomped into the house and paused in the living room, unsurprised to see Pete and Callie lounging on the couch. "Don't you ever go to work?" she snapped at him.

"I work," he said, pausing the movie and smiling charmingly.

Addison stomped out of the room.

"I thought that was a great moment for a smile!" he said defensively when Callie gave him a disgusted look.

Callie got up and went to Addison's room. She walked in without knocking and found Addison pacing the room.

"She only told me because you convinced her to," Addison said. "My miniscule window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller and she waits to tell me!" She suddenly stopped pacing and sat heavily on the bed. "There's a chance." She looked up at Callie with a frightened, yet hopeful look on her face. "I have a chance."

"You say that like you'd been dying or something." Callie sat with her on the edge of the bed. "Are you going to do it?"

Addison looked over at her like she'd said something truly crazy. "Of course I'm going to do it."

The two women sat in silence for a few minutes. "What are you going to tell Pete?"

The color drained from Addison's face. "Oh my God. How am I going to tell Pete?"

"You can tell him the truth," Callie offered. "He's not made of glass. Just tell him."

"Right now?" Addison looked apalled at the thought.

"Yes. Go do it. Go tell him you want a baby."

Addison didn't move. "Will you go with me?" she asked.

"What are you, six?" Callie demanded. Addison gave her a pleading look and she sighed. "Yes."

Pete looked up from the movie and saw the serious look on the two women's faces. "Uh oh." He paused the movie again and turned off the TV.

"You two need to have a serious discussion," Callie said. She sat beside him. "I'm just here for moral support and witty commentary."

Pete stared at Addison. She looked freaked out. "Hey," he said, pushing her hair out of her face. "What's going on?"

Addison took a deep breath. "I came to L.A. last year for a specific reason: I wanted to see Naomi. We've been friends for a really long time and I needed some medical advice. My life was completely falling apart. My marriage was over, my non-relationship with my ex-husband's best friend was over--"

"You're scaring him. Maybe you should get to the point," Callie said.

"It requires a back-story," Addison said.

"You're drawing it out. Just tell him."

"I want to have a baby, and, last year, Naomi told me there was no chance." Addison looked down at her hands. They were shaking slightly. She looked up at him and smiled tearfully. "Now she's telling me I have a small chance, and I'm going to take it."

Pete stared at her, unsure. "You're going to have a baby," he said flatly.

"The chances are slim but...that's the plan," Addison said.

Pete stared at her contemplatively. "I think I'm going to go lay on a flat surface and blame my wife for the reason I feel like I'm about to throw up."

"He was very blunt about that," Addison said when he was gone.

"Eh. He blames his wife for a lot of things. He'll probably talk to Violet and then be back tomorrow or something."

--

Callie was laying on her side on the couch in Pete's office rubbing the side of her stomach while she talked on the phone to Alex. She was giving him regular updates on the baby, but she was trying to pass the time until Pete came back from a house call. Pete had been avoiding Addison for days. It had been nearly a week.

Quite frankly, she was shocked. Plus, she really missed Pete cooking her meals, even if some were on the experimental side.

The office door opened and Pete seemed unperturbed to find Callie in his office.

"Hey, Alex," Callie said. "I'll talk to you later, okay? I have to talk to someone right now...Okay, bye." She flipped her cell phone closed and sat up. "You, sir, are an idiot."

"I'm not," Pete said, sitting beside her and pulling her feet into his lap. He nodded for her to lay back down, which she gladly did.

"Addison actually likes you, Pete," she said seriously, giving him a severe look. "But the truth is, she's going to have the baby whether you support her or not."

"Callie, we've only been dating for...what? Two months?"

"She's not asking you to be the father. You can be something, though. You don't have to just...desert her."

Pete sighed. "I'm not deserting her. I was going to talk to her tonight." He cringed. "Or tomorrow."

"Commitment conversations are never fun, and it's going to suck whether you do it tonight or tomorrow. Just get it over with, you big baby."

Pete rolled his eyes. "Your kid is going to be a ball of sunshine and cookies. I can already tell." He massaged her calf muscles and looked at her enlarged belly.

"He already is," she assured him.

Comfortable silence lapsed between him and Callie was close to drifting to sleep when he spoke again. "Anna didn't like kids."

Callie sat up and leaned against the arm rest as Pete slowly began massaging her feet. He took a deep breath as he pressed his thumb into the arch of her foot. "I have a daughter."

Callie's eyes opened wide. "What?"

He shrugged apologetically. "She's nineteen. She goes to UCLA."

"Why have I never met her?" Callie demanded crossly.

"There's an obvious rift between us because of Anna. I met Lauren's mom a long time before I met Anna. Lauren was pretty young when I met her, and my relationship with Rachael, Lauren's mother, had long been over. But my relationship with Lauren was strong. Until Anna."

"Something else to blame on your dead wife," Callie said softly.

"Yeah. Lauren stopped hating me after Anna died, but she we're still not fully..."

"Yeah," Callie said softly when Pete couldn't seem to find the words. "Wow. You have big baby issues."

"Yes."

"Good luck, man." Callie slipped her feet back into her shoes and stood up. "You have to talk to Addison tonight. Stop putting it off. I'm going to hang out with Maya."

"You're hanging out with a thirteen-year-old?" Pete asked with an amused smile.

"Something you should've been doing six years ago."

"You make me want to stand in the middle of the freeway."

"Don't do it. There's a chance you'll live and kill innocent people. That kind of guilt on your conscience...well, that would suck."

"You have a way of putting things in perspective." Pete stood up and opened the door for her.

"I really do," Callie agreed.

--

Addison sat thoughtfully as Pete finished talking about his daughter. "You...have a daughter. I don't know what to say."

"You don't really have to say anything. I'm having a birthday party for her next month when she turns twenty. You can meet her then." He cleared his throat. "I actually wanted to tell you that I'm here. I'll be here for you and here for the baby when it comes."

Addison smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. "Thank you. This means...this means a lot."

Pete handed her a small bag and she opened it to find a small pair of white booties. "I didn't want to get anything for a specific sex," he said with a shrug.

Addison held them in her hands and realized how close she actually was to what she wanted.

Ok. I'm stopping here, but next chapter...it's going to shake things up a little. And it's going to be FUN. I'm not going to lie. The Pete/Callie biting thing? Just because I thought it would be funny. I bit a guy at work.


	9. Chapter Eight

**It's been almost two years since I've updated. I'm going to try to finish my stories, but I have a renewed passion for this one that keeps me awake at night. **

**March, 2008**

"You're being a bitch," Callie informed her best friend. "You're more hormonal than I am."

"Fertility treatments," Cooper said with a mock-grim look. "The woman is obviously jacked up on estrogen."

"Jacked up being a technical term and all," Pete said laughingly.

"Mood swings are a side affect," Naomi said apologetically.

"We know," Cooper assured her.

Addison slipped out and headed to her office. She couldn't handle being talked about like she wasn't there. She hated the mood swings, but it wasn't like she could help it.

"Hey," Pete said, catching up with her. "We were just kidding. Well, I was and I'm pretty sure Cooper was."

Addison's phone began buzzing and she glanced at it. It was a text from Derek. She allowed a small smile at the remembrance of their first date.

"See? Now, I want to put a smile on your face like that. Is it one of those forwarded jokes--"

"Pete." Addison turned to him with an indulgent smile as she slipped her phone into her purse. "Thank you for being concerned, but I didn't take offense. I realize I'm...jacked up on estrogen."

"Okay." Off her look, he raised his hands defensively. "I wanted to follow you into your office so we could make out. I wasn't going to bring it up again."

The laughter bubbled up and she hit him. "Pete! I'm not making out with you right now. I have to figure out what I'm getting for Lauren. The part is _tonight_."

"I know, I know. Stay with the girly stuff. She'll like you just as much as I like you. Though not in the same way..."

She shook her head and pointedly walked into her office. "I'll see you later, Pete."

Addison smoothed down her blouse and knocked on the door before she could change her mind.

The door swung open to reveal a laughing woman with a lopsided paper birthday crown on her head. "You must be Addison," she said once she'd contained herself enough to speak.

Addison smiled weakly. There was no question who this girl's father was and it sent butterflies soaring through her stomach.

Pete appeared behind the girl. "Hey, Addison," he greeted with a wide smile. "I see you've met Lauren already."

"You brought me a present!" Lauren suddenly exclaimed. Her cheeks were tinged with a healthy glow, and her eyes brightened with excitement.

Addison glanced at Pete who rolled his eyes. "That is traditionally what you bring to birthday parties."

"Yeah, but she doesn't even know me." Lauren reached for the present in Addison's hands, but Pete pulled her away from the doorway.

"You don't get to get grabby until the guest crosses the threshold, Lauren."

The chastisement was stern and good-natured, but it caused Lauren to flush with embarrassment. "You must think I'm an uncivilized cow." She practically dragged Addison into the house. "It's my birthday party and I've been kinda nervous about meeting you so I've been tipping the wine a little too far back."

It was clear by her face that the younger girl had not meant to say half the things she did, but it really helped Addison relax a little. "It's okay," she assured her. "I have a tendency to do the same. Now that I've come into the house I believe it's okay for you to snatch this from my hands."

"Jesus, Addison. Did you really have to leave the pregnant chick in your car with no help?" Pete asked loudly as Callie ambled up the steps. He graciously held out his hand in a chivalrous offer. He retracted it when said pregnant chick gave him a withering look. "Just trying to be helpful."

"You simultaneous implied that I was fat _and_ an invalid. Please don't touch me."

Pete smiled wryly and kissed Addison on the cheek. "Should've just kept my mouth shut."

"I agree, dad," Lauren said meaningfully.

"Callie, Lauren. Lauren, Callie. We should probably move this get together to the living room with the rest of the party."

It was a fairly small get-together with a few people Lauren's age, as well as Violet and Sam.

Addison kissed Sam on the cheek and sat beside Violet. "How are you?" She made herself comfortable as Callie made her way to the bathroom.

"Bored," the therapist answered frankly.

Sam exasperatedly shushed her. "Pete made dinner," he explained. "It's not finished so we're just hanging out."

"While party girl keeps downing her wine and dancing becomes more and more crazy with each glass." Violet looked at her own wine contemplatively and took a small sip. Then she shrugged and finished it off.

"Where's Naomi?" Addison checked her cell phone and rolled her eyes when she saw a message from Derek. They were a consistent part of her life, but she never answered them.

"Hospital," Sam supplied. "One of her patients was admitted. She's trying to get her transferred to the practice."

Lauren suddenly plopped down between Addison and Sam. "Dad says I have to wait until dessert before I can open _any_ of the presents," she complained. She gave Sam a disgruntled look that reminded him of Maya when she was younger.

"I didn't make the rules," he said defensively. He still wasn't quite immune the puppy eyes.

"Who's the beautiful newcomer?" A man in his early twenties sat in the recliner adjacent to the sofa.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Which one? The pregnant one sneaking into the kitchen to bug dad or dad's _girlfriend_, Addison." She allowed a quick grin. "Addison, this is Matt, part time BFF."

"And _full-time_ boyfriend," Matt protested.

Lauren gave him a small smile and suddenly sighed. "I wish Cadence was here."

Pete groaned. "I don't. Dinner's ready."

"Dad!" Lauren flounced to her feet and gave him a scandalized look. "Cadence loves you!"

Matt gave her a pitying look. "Cadence's flirting embarrasses him, honey." He said it like it wasn't the same conversation they had every time Pete looked pained at the thought of Cadence coming into his home.

Lauren shrugged and led the way to the dining room. Callie was already seated and munching on a roll. "What?" she said defensively. "In case it somehow escaped you, I'm _pregnant._ Stop looking at me like that, Peter, before I shove this roll down your throat."

Deciding to like the girl despite, or maybe _because_, of her insults, Lauren took a seat beside her. "How far along are you?"

"Um. Twenty...three? Yeah, twenty third week here." She began loading her feet as soon as everyone was seated.

"Do you like being pregnant?" The question was casual, but there was something behind it that caused Callie to raise her eyebrows. Lauren took the mashed potatoes from Callie and lobbed a helping onto her plate.

"Sometimes. I like feeling him kick, letting me know he's there. I definitely have the increased libido, sadly." Lauren raised her eyebrows, and Callie shrugged. "It would be great if I had someone to have sex with."

"Hence the sadly," Pete said knowingly.

"My sadly is due to lack of a partner. His sadly is just lack of nooky."

"Callie!" Addison exclaimed, her face flaming. It was hard enough meeting the daughter. She didn't need to know about their sex life, or lack thereof.

"You're not having sex?" Lauren demanded. "_Why?_ I mean, come on."

Pete sighed and gave Addison an apologetic look. "Addison's on fertility treatments. She's going to...have a baby."

"Your baby? Dad, you kind of have to--"

"She's doing the donor thing," Pete said quickly. "I know how babies are made, but thank you."

"Still. There's condoms. Not exactly a hundred percent but..."

"This is not appropriate dinner conversation, Lauren."

Lauren frowned at her father. "It's my birthday," she said petulantly.

"Which is why we aren't having vegetables with our dinner. The conversational topics aren't debatable." Pete shot Callie a disapproving look which she promptly ignored.

A silence ensued, finally broken by Violet. "Cooper is shacking up with Charlotte King."

Mouths fell open in shock, though Pete and Sam looked unsurprised. Apparently, Callie and Addison were the only ones out of the loop. "When did this happen?" Callie demanded. It wasn't fair. Even Cooper was having sex.

The rest of the dinner passed quickly, with Callie explaining the situation to Matt and Lauren. By the time the cake was brought in, Lauren was well and thoroughly tipsy if not drunk, and Matt was trying to keep the disappointment off of his face. Addison saw his hand slip into his pocket a few times before sighing and folding his hands in his lap.

Callie was bonding quite well with Lauren but Addison was still wary. "I don't know how to do this whole grownup daughter thing," she confided in Pete as they got the ice cream and bowls.

"Just be her friend. If it happens it happens. You don't have to be her mom or anything." He grinned at her and kissed her. He pulled back and looked at her. "You're good at the female bonding. You made friends with Violet and she's socially retarded." He leaned in and brushed his lips along her jaw line. "Dell is practically a female at times." He worked his way to her ear. "And Callie? Well, you keep up with her well enough."

Pete's hot breath was slow, soft kisses were working magic on her. "It's not the same," she breathed, tilting her head back to expose her neck.

"We want ice cream," Callie said sternly. "You're letting it melt on the counter while you increase the already overwhelming sexual tension between you two."

Pete snorted and passed her the frozen dessert. "We're coming." He planted one last kiss on Addison's soft, pliable lips and followed Callie back into the dining room with the bowls.

Addison's cell vibrated with another text from Derek. She frowned and cursed his timing. _Superman or Spiderman?_

She quickly typed a reply. _Stop texting me._

It took no time for a response. _Finally a response i thought you were going to ignore me forever_

"Hey. We're getting ready for presents in here." Her wonderful boyfriend looked concerned by the frown on her face. "You okay?"

Addison blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm okay," she confirmed. She allowed Pete to drag her into the dining room and ignored her phone when it went off again.

The night was an overall success. Lauren was suitably impressed with Addison's taste in purses and took Callie's glib, "I didn't get you anything because I don't know you," in stride.

There was a moment of suspense when Lauren announced that she was going to start a family and maybe, when Matt pulled his head of his ass, get married. The hurt look on Matt's face was completely missed by only Lauren, and Pete hurriedly moved in to make peace. He pulled Matt into the kitchen. "Hey, man. She's just a little drunk right now."

"We've been talking about it for a while. She thinks I'm not hearing her, but it's all I'm hearing these days." Matt fished the simple diamond engagement ring from his pocket. "She thinks I'm not hearing her, Pete."

Pete sighed. "Just. Tonight is obviously not a good night for a--a proposal." It had been some months since Matt had asked his blessing to propose to Lauren.

Callie stuck her head just inside the kitchen. "Sam and Violet left, and...I think it's about time to get Lauren home. I think she's coming onto Addison."

Matt gave Pete a sad, disparaging look. "Thanks for throwing this party, Pete. I'll have Lauren call you tomorrow."

Pete helped Matt gather Lauren's gifts and get her to the car. "Bye, dad. Addison's really pretty."

Pete rolled his eyes. "You have a boyfriend, Lauren. Let me have my girlfriend."

"You should have sex with her. She seems frustrated."

Shaking his head, he kissed her forehead. "Be nicer to Matt," he whispered.

"Love you, daddy," Lauren murmured.

"Your daughter is weird," Callie announced when Pete made his way back into the house. She was making herself comfortable on the sofa, laying back and flipping through the channels. "She's really touchy. She kept her hands on my stomach a lot, but I like her. She's got some of the Pete Wilder traits. It's much more charming on a female."

"Thanks, Callie. I'm going to take it a compliment that you like my offspring," he said wryly.

"I also kind of insulted you somewhere in there."

Pete laughed and rolled his eyes. "I was ignoring that," he pointed out helpfully, heading into the kitchen where Addison was putting the food away.

"I love when you get domestic. It gets me all hot and bothered."

"Good. You can work some of that off while doing the dishes." She shot him a flirty look and laughed at the affronted look on his face. "Relax. I'll dry and put up."

"Or we can leave the dishes for tomorrow and I can use this nifty little dishwasher that I spent so much money on. Then we can head up to my room and...watch a movie."

Addison licked her lips and gave him a stern look. "I thought we agreed no sex right now?"

He gave her his best innocent look. "I didn't mention sex. I was talking about a _movie_, but if you want to, I'm not exactly opposed..."

Addison put the leftovers in the fridge and rounded on him. "I'm not opposed to a movie," she said softly, moving to kiss him, "and I do want to," she whispered as she moved down his jaw, "but we need to wait."

The protest died on his lip when she bit down ever so slightly on his ear lobe. "No sex," he choked out with a pained look.

"I said no sex, but there's still--" She laughed when he hurriedly pulled on her hand. "Pete! We still need to do the dishes!"

Pete slowly turned to her. "I thought we just came to an understanding here."

"After we do the dishes," she said firmly.

"Tease," he muttered frustratedly, heading morosely to unload the dishwasher. Any dishes that needed to be done by hand could wait.

**December 2012**

"Sam, you can't just--Faith, the coffee table is not something you sit on." Addison gave Faith her best stern look, though it faltered slightly when the small child gave her a hurt look. "I mean it. Get down." She kept an eye on Faith as she turned back to Sam. "You can't just buy Faith a pony because she asked you for one. Buy her a toy."

"She told me that I had to get her a pony, though. She said that she would love me forever." He gave her a pitiful look. "I want her to love me forever."

Addison burst out laughing. "You are such a pushover."

"It's not like you would have to keep it in your backyard. There's a place near Derek's property that wouldn't mind taking her in."

"Her?! You already picked one out?"

Sam sighed. "Me and Maya were just--"

"You are not buying my daughter a pony, Sam. That's out of the question, and I'm not going to argue any more about it."

"Archer already told me we could go halves!"

"Sam, I'm not opposed to fighting dirty. Buy her a pony and I will send those leopard speedo pictures to the newspaper. I mean it."

Sam sighed and pulled out his cell phone. "I have to call Archer."

Addison grinned and decided to take that as a win.

**Late March 2008**

Callie held the cell phone with one hand and her pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the other. "Addison, there's a naked man in our kitchen... _No_, I've never seen him before. If I had, I wouldn't be calling you." She paused and moved the phone. "What's your name?"

He rolled his eyes. "Archer Montgomery."

"He says his name is Archer. Yeah. Okay." She held out the phone. "Addison says she wants to talk to you."

"Hey, little sis," he said, struggling with his pants. "No, I didn't--okay. I did sort of break in, but you really need to find a more inventive way to hide your key. Addi, you use the same turtle...whatever. Yeah, okay. What? Why can't I just--" He glanced at Callie with appraising eyes. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing."

"I would mind. You're making eyes at me and there's innuendo. I just found you screwing a woman in my kitchen floor." Callie shrugged and got a spoon from the dishwasher. "I'm going to the living room now. Feel free to make crude remarks when I'm out of the room."

"Addison, I think I just fell in love with your pregnant friend." Archer laughed out loud at the outrage in his sister's voice. "I make no promises. I'll see you when you get here. Love you too."

Callie barely spared the man a look when he plopped down next to her.

"So," he said conversationally, his eyes not leaving her, "you're pregnant."

A startled laugh fled Callie. "Yeah, thanks for noticing."

"I have been told that I'm a very observant man," Archer said wisely. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I dig pregnant chicks."

"Oh, gee. I just don't know what to say to that flattering compliment." Callie gave him a disgusted look. "You're not staying here, are you?"

"Addison says no, but I'm sure you could convince her otherwise." He moved a little closer and she placed a hand on his chest to push him back.

"You don't even know my name, sweetie, and if you don't stop trying to get closer then I'm going to use some of the self-defense training my dad made me get. Seriously, dude. Back off."

"Archer!" Addison slammed the door behind her and stomped into the living room. "Why do you always feel the need to defile my things?"

"Well, hello to you too, little sis," Archer said, standing. "I wouldn't really call it defiling..."

"Then what would you call having sex on my things? At least you didn't have sex on my _bed_ this time, right?"

"Hey. From what I hear, I'm not the only one to defile that bed, Addison."

"It was my bed to defile!" She stomped her foot. An uncomfortable silence followed and she managed to calm herself. "It's good to see you, even if you're here to corrupt and destroy."

"It's good to see you too, Addison." He hugged her. "So what say you? Care to share a house with big brother?"

"I already told you no, Arch. Callie's staying here and I'm not kicking her out of her bed for you." She raised a hand. "And you are not _sharing_ her bed."

"Addison, she's an adult--"

"I'm not sharing a bed with you," Callie interrupted.

Archer gave her an amused smile. "Okay. I'm going to a hotel, _but_ you have to feed me since you aren't giving me a place to stay."

**December 2012**

"Archer, you're such a dumbass. You can't just buy a pony. She can't take care of it--No, I don't want you to pay someone else for its upkeep. Oh, so it's Honeypie is it? You can't just buy her a pony named Honeypie. No, I don't want a pony named something else. Archer, stop. She's four. Just buy her a toy...No, I'm not going to agree to it when she's older. Okay, maybe when she's old enough to care for it. That wasn't a promise! No, I'm not going to swear on my marriage!" Addison groaned. "I'm not--No, it's not because my marriage isn't--I don't believe in luck, Archer. Shut up. Don't buy her a pony."

"Poor Addison," Alex said with mock sympathy. "Everyone wants to buy your daughter a pony."

Addison sent him a quick glare and said her goodbyes to her brother. "Literally, Karev. Everyone wants to buy my four-year-old daughter a pony. What's up with that?"

"I just bought her My Little Ponies and some little pet thing that's supposed to be life-like or whatever." He shrugged at her surprised look. "Some of it's from "Ty." It's not like I can get around that or anything."

"You realize Callie's going to do the same thing, right?" Addison sometimes forgot that Alex had grown up. It was nice to be reminded.

"So you're brother's going to buy Faith a pony?" Alex asked, changing the subject.

"Not if he values his life," Addison swore.

**April 2008**

"I can't believe you are siding with the enemy, Archer! How could you?" Addison asked, pacing around him.

"Don't be so dramatic, Addi. I'm not _siding_ with the enemy. I'm just working for them." He grinned at his little joke. "Come on! It was a joke. I'm working for Charlotte King, but it's not like you are rival practices. It's a hospital. You remember what it's like to work in a hospital, right Addi?"

Addison glared at him and resented his condescending tone. "Naomi offered you a job at Ocean Side." She sounded petulant and she knew it, but she didn't understand.

"Money, Addison. Charlotte King offered to pay me a hell of a lot more than Naomi did. Now, come on. It's not a personal decision."

Addison blew out a breath. She would let it go, but the argument wasn't over. She would get him to see her way of thinking.

"So when am I going to get to meet this boyfriend?" Archer asked.

"When you two are in the same place at the same time." Which she hoped never happened.

"It's some luck that he's never in the office when I show up, he's never here when I show up. I'm beginning to think he's all in your imagination."

"I don't have an imaginary boyfriend, Archer." Addison next to him and took his glass of wine. "He's real enough, but I know what you think of alternative medicine, and I don't want you to be an asshole to him."

"I'm Satan's brother--" He laughed as he fended off Addison's fists. "I was joking. Addison!"

Callie stood in the doorway contemplatedly. "Archer's getting beat up by Addison," she said into the phone. "Yeah, I guess." She covered the mouthpiece. "Naomi said that the Harris couple are in your office."

Archer was holding Addison down tickle-torturing her. "Okay! I'm sorry. I'm Satan and you're my brother!" she shrieked.

"That's all I was saying," Archer said, backing down. "I can't help that alternative medicine doctors are nothing but quacks and I have a strong opinion on it."

"Pete's a good doctor," Addison said sternly once she'd gathered her breath. "But we can have this argument when I get back."

"I'll argue with you," Callie volunteered.

"I like arguing with you," Archer said with a slow smile.

"Never mind. I think I'm feeling faint. Time to start on those medical journals..."

Archer shook his head. "I guess I'll just entertain myself then."

"Alone," Callie said sternly. She backtracked. "And not sexually. I meant that I don't want to come downstairs and see nakedness."

Archer shrugged. "Your loss, baby."

"Okay," Callie said when she heard the door click shut. "You went to school with Derek and Mark and everyone right? Yeah? Well, I'm going upstairs to call Mark, who I'm going to fly here so I can have sex with him. I'm sexually frustrated, but you're even more arrogant than Mark. With Mark, it's infinitesimally sexy, but with you, it's just nasty. So stop."

Archer made a face. "You find Mark Sloan sexier than _me_? Do you know how many girls I get compared to him?"

Callie smirked. "I had one night with him. Do you know how many orgasms I had?"

Archer looked her up and down. "I bet I can give you more." He slowly stood up. "Really, Callie. I'm serious."

"And yet. As hot as your body is, you keep insulting one of my best friends every chance you get."

"I don't insult Addison," Archer said defensively, genuinely offended that Callie would say such a thing.

"Not Addison, you dick. Pete."

"The Eastern medicine guy?" Archer looked pained. "You're not going to have sex with me because I don't like my sister's sex partner? The guy doesn't even practice real medicine. He's a damn witch doctor!"

It was a personal victory on Callie's part, and she was proud of herself. "I'll talk to you later, Archie."

"It's _Archer_." No one but Addison usually called him that.

Callie shrugged and padded her way up the stairs.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Late March 2008**

"Eastern medicine, huh?" The tone clearly said what Archer thought of Pete's specialty, and Pete caught on quickly.

He stiffened defensively. "Yes."

"You do _acupuncture_ and _aroma therapy_?" Archer sneered, his hackles immediately rising. "You might as well be a therapist, Peter."

"It's Pete." It was all he could do to stay polite. "Dr. Pete Wilder. My medicine, the medicine that you are condemning allows people to get well without putting toxins into their system--No," he corrected quickly at the outraged look on Archer's face. "I'm not saying that medicine doesn't work. Sometimes, people are allergic to any medicine that could help them so they come to me." He felt like a fumbling idiot, trying to defend himself as well as his specialty to Addison's brother. The man was such a prick.

"At least you're not a brain surgeon," Archer said with a sigh. "I'll count it as a win that you're not constantly competing with my sister for "who's the best in our respective field."" He nodded as if that was a solution that could all come to. "I will. I'll count that as a win...even if you're not a real doctor."

"Archer, shut up," Addison ordered, breezing into the room with a glass of tea for Callie and a glass of wine for herself. "Don't compare my boyfriend with my husband. It's weird."

"Ex-husband."

Addison looked between the three people scattered around her living room. "Way to speak in sync, there. Did you practice it?" She passed Callie her tea and gingerly sat next to her brother. "We are here to have a pleasant night. You wanted to meet Pete so I arranged it."

"Addison, I can't just not insult his profession. He practices _alternative_ medicine."

Pete inhaled deeply and hid his clenched fist. He did not like Archer Montgomery. "My profession is the same as yours, Dr. Montgomery. I am a doctor."

Archer blew out a breath. "Okay, you're a doctor." He glanced at Pete. "And my hair is nicer than yours."

Callie snorted into her tea. "Are you referring to Shepherd's hair?" she asked laughingly.

"There's no way someone's hair can look that perfect with no styling," Archer said.

"Archer, he doesn't style his hair. It's inherently amazing," Addison said with a straight face.

Callie rolled her eyes. "Even when it's messy?" She laughed a little. "We're discussing Derek Shepherd's hair."

"It's nice," Archer admitted, coming unexpectedly to his sister's defense. "It's probably his only good quality."

"I'm sure Derek Shepherd has many good qualities," Callie argued. "Most of which the ex-wife could probably attest to."

"Oh, God. Stop talking about Derek!" Addison yelled, flustered. "Let's talk about Pete and his good qualities. Just. Don't talk about Derek Shepherd."

Pete watched with interest as Archer hid a happy, amused smile. "I don't really like discussing me," he said humbly. "I prefer to talk about medical breakthroughs, the weather, current events...even my daughter."

"You have a kid?" Archer turned to Addison. "You didn't tell me he had a kid."

"What does it matter?" Addison asked tiredly. She was already sick of Archer. She just wanted him to stop being an ass.

"Of course it matters! You can't date someone with a kid! You have no experience!"

Pete saw the look on Addison's face and realized he was done allowing Archer to talk to his sister like that. "It's not like she will break the girl. She's twenty years old. Anyway, I think Addison would make a wonderful mother."

Archer laughed. "You don't know Addison. She killed countless goldfish as a child. Her dog ran away when she left the gate open for Christ's sake!"

"A child is a little more difficult to forget than a pet, Montgomery." Addison was staring at her hands and blinking rapidly, and Pete was about ready to hit Archer.

"Thank God. Because I killed a lot of pets too," Callie said glibly. Everyone looked at her and she shrugged awkwardly. "There was a lot of bottom-up fish and then there was a baby bunny that I tried to feed..." She trailed off, realizing how bad that sounded. "I was eight. Addison is the one we were discussing."

"I think we should watch a movie," Addison countered brightly. Why had she decided on a night in? There's no way Archer would be this bad in public, at least not without copious amounts of alcohol.

"I've got it," Pete said, standing.

"Hey, while you're up, will you grab me another beer?" Archer asked.

"I could use some more tea." Callie offered up her glass and Addison took it.

"I'll help you," she said.

In the kitchen, Pete rounded on Addison. "I don't like your brother. I also don't like fighting, but I'm not opposed to punching Archer right in his smug face. He just---sat there and insulted you like that. Like you have no feelings." His hand ghosted over her abdomen. "His implications that you would be a bad mother were _wrong_."

A tear slipped down her cheek and she pulled him into a rough kiss. Archer had spoken to all her worst fears, and she was relieved that Pete completely disagreed with him. She gasped when Pete's hands met the bare skin of her lower back. "Your hands are cold," she hissed as his lips moved across her jaw.

"Best way to warm them up then," he murmured, his hands running up her back.

Addison laughed when his fingers skimmed her ribs. "We came to get refreshments," she said between giggles.

"You started it," he growled.

"Guys!" Callie's annoyed voice yelled. "Hurry up with those drinks before I have teach Archer what I do for a living."

**December 2012**

"Baby, I _have_ to," Addison said gently.

"But who's going to read me a bedtime story? You have to stay home!" Faith stomped her foot and pouted up at her mom.

"Honey, you love staying the night with Ty. What's going on?" Addison asked, kneeling in front of her daughter.

"I don't want Santa to forget about me," she said quietly. "I won't be at home so.." She shrugged and looked at her snow boots.

"Baby, we have about two weeks until Christmas. Santa isn't going to put you down for an address change just because you spent one night away from home."

Faith frowned petulantly. "But I thought Christmas was almost here!" she whined.

"Christmas _is_ almost here. It's in two weeks."

Faith sighed and suddenly smiled. "We're going to play tea party, and there will be toy soldiers." She was almost wiggling with excitement.

Addison laughed and grabbed her overnight bag, which was stuffed with her plastic tea set and pajamas.

**April 2008**

"Hey gorgeous, how's the kid?" Mark asked with a grin when Callie opened the kid. He stumbled back a little when his arms were suddenly full of a very pregnant, very enthusiastic Callie. "Mmmph!" He pulled away from the quickly heated, very passionate kiss that she initiated. "You have a room here, right?"

"Not so fast, Sloan," Archer said from the doorway. "Aren't you like a month late?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "Go away, Archer. I haven't had sex in a really, really long time."

"I tried to rectify that. Anyway, I thought you called Mark a month ago?"

"I was bluffing, you arrogant twit."

Mark didn't understand half the conversation, but he did know that he didn't want to stand on the porch all day. "Let's take this party inside, ladies."

"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be," Archer retorted acidly.

"There's the Archie I remember," Mark said with a wide grin. "Where's Addison?"

"Work," Callie supplied. She had forgotten about Archer and suddenly wished she hadn't invited him over to watch a movie. It was boredom that drove her to it, and he'd done nothing but annoy her since his arrival.

"Work," Archer said derisively.

"Don't say it like that," Mark said. "You're about the same. You're a _neurologist_."

Callie burst out laughing at the affronted look on Archer's face. Mark was talking about his profession in the same way he had been talking about Pete's. "Guy's got a point," she said.

Archer shot her an acidic look.

"You leech off neurosurgeons, Arch. And you're needlessly arrogant." Mark settled comfortably beside Callie and grinned when she curled into him.

"You're one to talk about arrogance!" Archer said angrily. He hated that Mark could just walk in and have Callie leaning on him like that. She paid no attention at all to his advances and was all over Mark the moment he showed up.

Mark held up his hands. "I've crafted perfection with these hands. I'm working on this car crash victim right now. Half his face is gone, and I'm working on a way to rebuild it."

"Really?" Callie asked, impressed.

Archer growled under his breath. He liked Mark Sloan, loved him like a brother. But the guy always had a way of showing him up in front of the ladies that killed him. "I'm heading to the hospital." As if they cared.

"Finally," Callie muttered.

"You're really harsh on the guy," Mark said laughingly when the door slammed.

"He's been trying to sleep with me since he got here," Callie said, standing. She slipped her shoes off and padded toward the stairs. "You coming?" The look she gave him as she paused on the bottom step had him squirming in his seat.

Callie groaned when she heart the front door opening. "You couldn't just stay at the office for another half hour?" she demanded when a Pete came walking in, flipping through a medical file.

"What?" he asked, glancing up distractedly. His eyes immediately zeroed in on Mark, and he tensed. "Another relative of Addison's?"

The dry tone obviously caused by Archer's presence and probably his snobby attitude had Mark immediately liking the other guy. "That would be illegal, man." He stood and offered his hand. "Dr. Mark Sloan. Plastics."

Pete's forehead wrinkled when a past conversation ghosted through his mind. "You're the plastic surgeon?" He suddenly turned to look at Callie. "Were you about to sleep with him?"

Mark immediately retracted his hand with a frown. His momentary fondness for the other man faded and annoyance took his place. "Are you the boyfriend?" he demanded, shooting Callie an aggrieved look.

Callie nodded then immediately shook her head. "He's Addison's boyfriend," she amended.

"And you're a guy who apparently both Callie and Addison have already slept with." Pete's stance was defensive, and Callie had to admire it. The man had such a great body, and his protective act was endearing.

That was something. The man in front of him already knew some of his history. "It's kind of a long story," Mark said almost apologetically.

"If I'm not getting any, I'm ordering pizza," Callie said resignedly. She shrugged when both men looked at her. "I realize perfectly that it's the number one thing on my mind, and I'm sorry that I keep bringing it up."

Pete moved into the living room and sat in the recliner. He passed the manila folder to Callie in exchange of a glass of ice water. "The donors," he explained when she raised her eyebrows.

"What donors?" Mark asked, not wanting to be left out of the loop.

It was a tough decision, what she could get away with leaving out and how much she should tell. "Sperm donors," she said casually.

"Baby, you're already pregnant," Mark said gently. He grinned when Callie laughed.

"Not for me, you idiot." Callie hit him with the folder. "It's for--a patient of Naomi's." If Mark noticed the momentary hesitation, he decided not to comment. He pulled the file from her grasp and flipped it open.

"First one's out, second one's out...who filtered these? These guys suck." Mark closed the folder and tossed it onto the coffee table. "Tell this patient of Naomi's that I'll donate my sperm. I'm very fertile."

Callie choked back a laugh, especially when she saw the look on Pete's face. "I hate Archer," she said brightly. It was something she knew her and Pete agreed fully on.

Pete gave Callie a rueful smile. He understood what she was trying to do and was grateful for it. The jealousy made him glad for Callie's concealment of the "Naomi's patient," and he felt the need to punch Mark for suggesting sperm donation, even if he didn't know it was for Addison.

"Archer's a good guy," Mark said easily. "I mean, he's a prick and a sore loser, and he's always hated Derek. He practically threw a party when--" He darted a quick look at Pete. "When Derek left Addison." Silence overcame him for a few minutes and his eyebrows rose. "He's also a womanizer, and he's always hated that Addi's career surpassed his. Wow, he's a dick."

Callie raised her glass in a silent toast. "Here here."

Hours later, Addison walked into her house to find Callie sleeping practically draped over Mark, while Mark was discussing with Pete the finer points of acupuncture versus rehabilitation to help with addiction. There was an empty pizza box on the dining room table and empty beer bottles on the coffee table.

"Honey, I'm home?"

"Was that a question?" Pete teased. After a few beers, he was feeling a lot more charitable toward Mark. It helped that they had a lot more in common than he'd originally thought, ranging from sports to medicine. Mark was a plastic surgeon, but it seemed that it wasn't his sole interest. He didn't necessarily agree with alternative medicine over medication, but he was willing to debate with Pete over it instead of talking down to him.

"I just did not expect to find Mark Sloan sitting on my couch," she said with a shrug, placing a kiss on his forehead. Her eyes didn't leave Mark, and he could tell there was something going on.

"I came to see Callie," Mark felt the need to explain.

Addison nodded, like that made sense. It didn't make much sense to her at all. She knew they talked on the phone sometimes, but she couldn't really see the point in him showing up in L.A. to see her. "How's Seattle?" she asked.

Pete followed her with his eyes as she moved to the love seat and sat down. She was acting nervous and almost agitated by Mark's presence.

"It's wet," Mark answered with a laugh. "Same old, same old. Hospital gossip surrounds the interns, and the nurses make it their sole duty to make sure no one has a secret." His face darkened a little at that last statement. "You and Callie are the only safe ones, to an extent."

Addison laughed a little, but she was still a little worried about Mark's presence. Was he going to say something about Derek in front of Pete? Should she bring Derek up so there was no suspicions? Why was she so worried? It wasn't like she'd been doing anything wrong.

"What do you mean to an extent?" Callie asked groggily.

Mark chuckled and smoothed her hair. "Karev practically threw a party when he found out he was having a boy. Everyone knows you're having his kid."

Callie groaned. "That was my only consolation, that no one really knew." She snuggled into Mark's lap and stifled a giggle when she felt something stirring. She gave him a coy look and he rolled his eyes. "At least I'm two states away." She took pity on him and sat up. "Wait. He threw a party?"

Addison smiled softly at the suddenly interested look on Callie's face. "You knew he was going to try, Cal."

"But I didn't know he was going to throw a _party_." She got a disgusted look on her face. "What is everyone saying?"

Pete held up a hand. "Karev is the guy who came here, right?" he asked.

"Karev came here?" Mark asked with a frown.

"Yes," Callie said impatiently. "People aren't saying I'm some giant slut, right?"

Startled, Mark chuckled. "With the things that go on between those four walls, I think you would have to do a lot more than Karev to be considered a giant slut."

"I also did you. And George."

"You have yet to break a man's penis or have your life so advertised throughout the hospital that people know within hours of being hired on."

"You also didn't have your panties posted on the bulletin board," Addison pointed out with a satisfied smile.

"I claimed those," Callie admitted guiltily, causing Addison's smile to fade. "What? I was trying to get in good with George's friends. My need to be accepted was a little more important than your revenge."

"I'm so confused," Pete said, trying to follow the conversation.

"We have a..."

"Slutty?" Callie suggested.

"Whorish?" Addison put in.

"Immoral staff at Seattle Grace," Mark finished.

"Addison is Satan," Callie said brightly. "She came in with her designer clothes and flaming red hair and ruined everything between Seattle's sweethearts."

"Excuse me," Addison defended. "I was married to one of those so called sweethearts so I think I was a little entitled."

"You slept with his best friend!" Callie pointed out.

"Whose side are you on?" Addison protested.

"Sorry," Callie said sheepishly. She smiled endearingly. "I got kind of carried away." Her sleepy eyes and mussed hair gave her a childish look, and Addison forgave her instantly.

A long silence lapsed and Mark turned the television on. "What?" he said. "I have the remote, and I don't like awkward silences, and I'm feeling pretty awkward right now."

"It's 'cos you're the manwhore best friend," Callie said, wrapping her arms around Mark and laying her head on his chest.

"Happens to the best of us." Mark's chest rumbled as he talked, and he ran his hands through her tangled hair.

Pete followed Addison into the kitchen and leaned against the counter while she searched for something to eat. "Sometimes I forget you have a bit of a sordid past," he admitted when she straightened with a container of leftover Chinese food.

She smelled it and tossed it in the trash. "There are only parts that are sordid," she protested half-heartedly. "Most of it was after I moved to Seattle."

"Hm," Pete hummed agreeably. "Still. I don't really like being in the same room with Mark when he hints at anything sexual when it has to do with you." He paused contemplatively. "Or Callie."

Addison gave up her search and decided on a bowl of cereal. "You're just protective," she informed him. "Guys like Mark," She rolled her eyes, "And Archer can't help being giant perverts. Pete, I hate to tell you this, but you're a pervert too."

"Yeah, but when I do it, I don't want to punch myself." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose. "I've never had such violent thoughts. Now, there are two men that I would happily take down."

Addison kissed him and pulled back with a teasing smile. "Honey, I hate to tell you this, but I don't think you can take Mark. Archer, probably, but Mark has had experience. He used to beat the hell out of Derek when they were teenagers." She grinned when he grunted at the challenge.

"I would get some pretty good hits in," Pete defended with a grin.

Addison laughed and succumbed to his kiss.

**December 2012**

Addison groaned when she finally let herself into her house. After a night of non-stop surgery, she was exhausted and just wanted to collapse into bed.

"Hey," Mark said from the couch.

Addison dropped beside him and leaned back. "I'm so tired."

Derek sat beside her and presented a plate of pancakes. "Hungry?" he asked, waving the plate enticingly.

"Ugh, no." Addison pushed the plate away. "I need to sleep." She kicked off her shoes and put her feet on the coffee table.

Derek hid a grin and cut into his pancakes. "There's more on the stove," he said when he saw Mark's longing look.

Mark eagerly got up and Addison laid down in his place. "Someone needs to pick Faith up in a few hours," she murmured.

"Mark's on it," Derek said. "I have a surgery scheduled at eleven."

"Hm."

"Hey, you can't just steal my spot. I've been here for hours before you showed up." Mark picked up Addison's feet and sat beside Derek. "I don't know how she ever survived without us, Shepherd."

**April 2008**

Callie sighed and looked down at Mark, who was sprawled shirtlessly across the foot of her bed. It had been a full day since his arrival, and there was still no sex. "So tell me about life at the practice?" he said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Fun people. _Extremely_ boring. Highlights of my day include messing with Dell, the guy who does the filing, and watching everyone make eyes at each other."

"No one's making eyes at you?" Mark asked, surprise coloring his tone. He slid his hand over her foot and began massaging gently.

Callie snorted in laughter. "Only Archer, but he's such a lech. Besides that, not really." She shrugged like she didn't care. "I don't know if you realize this, but I'm about two and a half months from being a full-blown _mother_. Not exactly a big turn-on. Meaning, I can barely shave my legs."

"Hm." Mark slid his hand up her leg. "Yet you still manage it." Pregnancy did not look bad on her. "Any stretch marks?"

The husky tone said clearly how difficult it was for him to hold out. The question was _why_ was he doing it in the first place? "Dr. Sloan," she said coyly, "does my present state turn you on?"

"No," he said truthfully.

Disappointment and humiliation curled in the pit of her stomach and she immediately yanked her foot away, ready to kick him out of her room.

Mark grabbed her foot back. "_You_ are sexy no matter what state you're in." He slid his hand soothingly over her calf. "Pregnancy--" He groaned and moved back to her feet.

Callie smiled ruefully, a little angry with herself for her initial reaction. Of course he would say something to make her insides melt. "You talk the talk..."

"You know I can walk the walk," he said huskily.

Callie closed her eyes and moaned as his hands worked on first one foot and then the other. "You're killing me, Mark," she said breathlessly.

"I think I'm torturing myself more than you," Mark promised laughingly.

"I _highly_ doubt that," she challenged.

"Oh?" he asked, amused at her defensiveness.

"I haven't had sex since October, Mark. _October_."

Mark whistled appreciatively and retracted his hands. They were about to have a conversation and he wanted his hands free. "I haven't had sex since December."

They sat in shocked silence, finally broken by Callie. "_Why_?" she asked incredulously.

"Saving myself for you, my one true love. Why else?" he asked sardonically.

"Seriously, Mark--if I had a ready and willing body--but you have _plenty_ at your disposal. _Why_ would you hold back?"

"Long story," he said with false good humor. The look on his face told Callie clearly that it wasn't a fun story, at least not for him.

"I'm pregnant, and I'm two states away from my job. There's nothing to do here except watch TV because I left all my gaming systems in Seattle. Humor me, please."

Mark glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "Let's go downstairs. It may take a while and I'm kinda hungry." Once they were in the kitchen, he began making himself and Callie a sandwich. "You might hate me when I'm done telling you."

"Doubtful but go ahead and begin." She grabbed a bottle of water and seated herself in the living room.

Mark sighed and sat down with the sandwiches. "Okay. The Yang-Burke wedding--"

"It goes back that far?!" Callie exclaimed.

"Hey. It requires a back story. I _warned _you it was long." He paused to take a bite of his sandwich.

Callie rolled her eyes. "You did," she conceded, settling in for a long story.

"Okay, this centers around Meredith Grey. She freaked out when Burke left Yang. I'm not exactly sure of the particulars behind it, but Meredith left Derek because Yang didn't get her happy ending or whatever. That night she...well, she got me really drunk."

"Oh my God!" Callie interrupted. "You slept with her!"

"I did." He sounded so ashamed that Callie almost believed Meredith took advantage of him.

"You weren't _that_ drunk. You couldn't have been."

"No," he admitted. "I wanted to be with her to--I don't know. Get back at Addison? Maybe?"

Once she was fully comfortable, Callie realized she needed to go to the bathroom. "Not a good reason to sleep with you best friend's girl--again! Hold on."

Mark sat in quiet contemplation as she ran to the bathroom, trying to put his thoughts together for the rest of the story. "I'm not disagreeing with you," he said when she settled back down. "So about a week after we hooked up, she got back together with Derek. I'm sure you remember the reunion. It was sunshine and rainbows--until she found out she was pregnant."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" She put down her sandwich and stared at Mark.

"No--She really was pregnant."

"When was this exactly?" Callie asked suspiciously.

"June-July-is. I don't exactly remember the date."

"How did no one know this?" Everyone knew about her pregnancy, but Meredith Grey's stayed secret.

Mark rolled his eyes. "She lost the baby really early. Like a week after she found out."

They lapsed into a long silence. "Mark?" Callie said softly.

"It was my fault," he said quietly. "Derek was so happy but there was a possibility--so I told him. She lost the baby the same night, after Derek left her."

"You couldn't have--"

"I knew he would leave her," Mark interrupted. He lowered his eyes, ashamed. "I hated him because he was the one thing Addison always wanted. I could giver her the world and all she would ever want was him. So that night, I wanted him to feel the way I felt." He shrugged with an almost angry look on his face.

"Are you talking about the baby?" Callie asked gently, remembering the baby Addison had aborted.

"Knowing the baby might not be his would be the same for him as losing it. Then she--I didn't mean for it to happen that way. It was probably his, but for that night, I wanted him to think it wasn't."

"Okay," Callie said brightly. "Let's talk about the next, less depressing part of your story!"

Mark paused. "Next, Derek began drinking heavily and I began trying to get with Izzie Stevens."

"I understand Meredith but Izzie?" she asked.

He shrugged, hiding a smile. "I wanted you but you _repeatedly_ turned me down There's only so much rejection a man can take."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. So did you sleep with her?"

He burst out laughing at Callie's jealous tone. "No. I was close but..."

"You couldn't go through with it?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Cal. _She_ couldn't go through with it."

Callie made a noise in the back of her throat. "Of course."

"Damn, she can't win for losing, can she?" Mark touched her knee and sniggered when she jerked away.

"Hell no. She slept with my husband. She's not allowed to win."

"Okay, back to the story. December, me and Derek got drunk side-by-side. Then we fought."

Callie stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Yep. It was more like a drunken wrestling match where he gave up and ended up pouring his heart out. It was lame. But we're like BFF again."

"Are you really?"

Mark looked at her suspiciously. "Yes..."

"Then you should stop hanging out with women because you just told me you and Derek were BFF."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Shut up. So we were drunk and he left to get things sorted out and I went back to Joe's. I don't remember much else, but I woke up the next morning with a cute little brunette in my bed."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Of course."

Mark nodded and looked down at his hands. "She contacted me a few weeks later and told me she was HIV positive."

Callie's heart plummeted. "Oh, God. Please, _please_ tell me you triple-bagged it, Mark."

"Crude wording, Torres. Like I said...I don't remember much from that night."

"Did you get tested?" Callie asked. His hesitance for any sexual contact was starting to make a little more sense.

"Yes, but only recently. Like a last month recently."

"Mark! What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you wait so long? Does anyone even know about this?"

"Derek knows. I cut my hand and he tried to help me. Then of course I had to explain to him why I practically shoved him away." He fidgeted. "Derek's the one that made me get tested. I didn't really want to know, to be honest."

Callie sat for a while in silence. "Wow," she finally said. "You haven't had sex in almost four months and there's a possibility that you're HIV positive."

"I got my test results back almost as soon as I got the test done. I'm not. But in better news, Derek likes me again, and we've become almost like we used to be. Except without the wing man thing because of my celibacy."

"There's that," Callie said dryly.

"When Derek finally opened my test results--because I had them for a while and was afraid of the results--I hopped on a plane and flew here go see you."

"Because you want to have sex."

Mark nodded. "I do want to have sex with you, but I wanted to tell you about everything that happened first."

Callie nodded. "I'm going upstairs. We're using a condom, and I'll be naked in a few minutes."

The footsteps above him finally broke his dumb founded silence, and he tore upstairs. He thought for sure she was going to reject him after hearing his story!


End file.
